Oppn MLAs chant slogans, disrupt Governor's address as Uttarakhand session begins

Congress MLAs trooped into the well of the House and shouted slogans against the state’s BJP government as the Budget session of the assembly began Monday in Uttarakhand’s summer capital with the Governor’s address.

The opposition members chanted slogans almost throughout Governor Gurmit’s Singh’s 16-page address. The MLAs demanded a CBI probe into alleged recruitment scams in the state.

Towards the end of his address, Singh urged the MLAs to maintain peace for a while as he closed by paying tributes to soldiers from the state and the rest of the country who died in action.

Later, speaking to reporters, Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami slammed the opposition’s conduct.

''The Governor's address to the House is a document that lays the roadmap of development and belongs to the whole state. Shouting slogans when the Governor is reading it does not set a healthy precedent,'' he said.

The Governor recalled the steps taken by the state government for infrastructure development, women empowerment, promoting education and skill development among the minorities.

He cited the state's Medhavi Balika Protsahan Yojana, under which a grant up to Rs 25,000 is given to meritorious girl students from the minority communities to help reduce dropout rates.

Under the Mukhya Mantri Hunar Yojana, emphasis is given to skill development in the minority communities and reviving their traditional crafts, he added.

He recalled the state’s decision on reservation of government jobs through an ordinance for women with Uttarakhand domicile.

He also mentioned social welfare measures like hiking pensions for the elderly, widows and people with disabilities.

The Governor said Uttarakhand’s Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP) will double by the times it completes 25 years of its existence. The new state came into being in 2000.

He said a State Institute for Empowering and Transforming Uttarakhand is being set up on the lines of the NITI Aayog, he said.

The Uttarakhand Infrastructure Investment Development Board has been constituted for economic development, he said. A panel headed by the chief secretary has been set up to boost eco-tourism and create more job opportunities in the sector.

Under the state's new film policy, permission to shoot has been given to 150 filmmakers in the past year through a single window system.

The National Education Policy 2022 has been implemented in Uttarakhand by the Higher Education Department. Twenty higher educational institutions are being established as centres of excellence for research and teaching.