The budget session of Uttarakhand has not even started yet and politics has already become heated. The budget is to be presented on March 11 in this session to be held in the Bharadisain Assembly complex of summer capital Gairsain from March 9 to 13. But more than the budget, these days the discussion is about whether the session should be held in Gairsain or not and whether the arrangements there are adequate or not.
BJP MLA from Lansdowne, Mahant Dilip Rawat raised questions on the site selection of the assembly building built in Bharadisain. He says that at the place where this building has been built, due to the high altitude there is a lack of oxygen, the cold is severe and snowfall also occurs. This causes a lot of trouble to both the MLAs and the employees during the session. Rawat says that the site was not seriously thought about before constructing the building. This statement of the MLA of his own government became the reason for a new debate before the beginning of the session.
Congress quipped – take quilt and oxygen cylinder with you
Congress State Vice President Suryakant Dhasmana did not let this opportunity slip away. He quipped that if it is so cold there and there is a shortage of oxygen, then MLAs should carry thick quilts, blankets, heaters and oxygen cylinders with them.
Congress demanded to extend the budget session for one month
Along with this, he targeted the government and said that the duration of the budget session is kept very short, which is just a matter of convenience. Congress demands that the session should be for at least three weeks or a full month and the House should function on Monday also. The party also accused the government of adopting an indifferent attitude towards Gairsain.
Honey Pathak said – Congress needs oxygen cylinders
BJP state spokesperson Honey Pathak responded to the opposition’s taunt in a funny manner. He said that the status of summer capital has been given to Bharadisain by the BJP government itself, hence it is meaningless to question the intentions of BJP towards Gairsain. Accusing the opposition of distorting the statement, he retorted that Congress is in real need of oxygen cylinders because its workers are leaving the party one by one and joining the BJP. In such a situation, Congress should keep its oxygen cylinder safely.
This debate is not new
This controversy regarding Gairsain has been coming up in some form or the other before every budget session. In the year 2024, some MLAs had written a letter to Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami demanding to hold the session in Dehradun. After that the budget sessions of 2024 and 2025 were held in Dehradun only. On the other hand, during the tenure of former Chief Minister Harish Rawat, a resolution was passed that the budget session would be held in Gairsain, but later this decision kept changing according to the circumstances.
Gairsain is not just the name of a place, it is a symbol associated with the feelings and dreams of the Uttarakhand statehood movement. That is why whenever there is politics on this issue, it hurts the people of the hills. This time the session starting from March 9 only Budget It will not be limited to this, the debate on Rajdhani and Gairsain will also continue simultaneously.