Ukd CM asks party workers to work for safeguarding democracy

“I would appeal to all of you to take a pledge on this day to fight for democracy," he urged. While addressing the virtual rally, he also highlighted achievements of the BJP governments at the Centre and in the state.

Recalling the imposition of Emergency on this day 45 years ago, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat on Thursday urged BJP workers to take a pledge to safeguard democracy in the country. The chief minister made the appeal while addressing virtual rallies of party workers in Almora and Haldwani.

"The emergency was imposed on the midnight of June 25. Tens of thousands of innocent people were picked up from their homes and put behind bars. Many people were tortured painfully. The fingernails of one Tilak Raj Kapoor were removed. Imagine the pain. "And all this, just because the election of the then prime minister was declared unconstitutional by the law of the land," Rawat recalled. "I would appeal to all of you to take a pledge on this day to fight for democracy," he urged.

While addressing the virtual rally, he also highlighted achievements of the BJP governments at the Centre and in the state. He praised the Centre for abrogating Article 370 of the Constitution in Jammu and Kashmir, paving way for a peaceful resolution of the Ayodhya Ram temple dispute besides and making triple talaq illegal to help Muslim women. He said abrogating Article 370 meant achieving Syama Prasad Mookerjee's vision of one-nation one-flag.

Lauding Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his "farsighted" leadership, Rawat said it was not possible to contain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic without his vision. Rawat also eulogized his government in Uttrakhand for delivering "an unprecedented blow" to corruption and making Gairsain the summer capital of Uttarakhand to fulfill aspirations of the hill people. Claiming that his government has fulfilled 85 per cent of the promises made in the party's vision document for the 2017 assembly elections, Rawat said in case of Gairsain, his government has done more than what was promised. "In our vision document, we had only said we will consider making Gairsain the state's summer capital but we actually did that and a notification giving it the status of summer capital has already been issued. "In keeping with the party's main electoral plank of corruption, a crackdown was launched on graft soon after it came to power and more than 150 people were sent to jail," he said. "Even IAS officers were suspended in the state for corruption and the dominance of mafia in every sector was brought to an end," he said. Corrupt and mafia elements have been eliminated from the corridors of power, Rawat said. The chief minister also highlighted the state government's preparedness to fight the battle against the corona pandemic.

He said there are 19,000 beds at COVID care centres in the state, all manned by trained healthcare personnel, to accommodate patients and treat them. Highlighting the state government's efforts to bring back migrants, he said around 2.5 lakh of them were brought from different parts of the country for free for which Rs 5 crore was paid to the State Roadways Corporation and one crore to Indian Railways. The chief minister also asked people to plant trees as much as they can on the occasion of Harela on July 16 without ignoring social distancing norms, saying trees alone can save our rivers. On the hue and cry being raised by the Congress over an order issued by the Head of the Forest Force Jairaj asking the Forest Department to help the RSS plant trees on the occasion of Harela festival, the chief minister said, "Congress has become like an old bullock. Don't work nor let anyone else work seems to be its motto," he said. Post-COVID, the party is going to make the most of the virtual platform to prepare the ground for 2022 assembly polls, party sources said.