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The ruling Congress party has heaved a sigh of relief after the Met Department predicted no rains for the next few days in Uttarakhand, where for the first time, a three-day session of the Vidhan Sabha begins on Monday outside Dehradun in a make-shift tent at Gairsain, a nondescript hilly township in the state's central zone.
Chief Minister Harish Rawat has described the session as "historic" as he claims it will usher a new era of development for the remote hilly areas of the state. Earlier this week, Rawat chaired a Cabinet meeting at Almora to show that development was a top priority in his agenda.
"It is not an ordinary step (having an Assembly session in Gairsain) as being projected in some quarters. The session would determine the future course of the state's development," Rawat told PTI.
"We want to fulfill the dreams of our statehood activists," he added. Rawat is said to be looking for a safe Assembly seat to become an MLA. Rawat also hit out at the Bharatiya Janata Party for suggesting that the Congress was using the issue of Gairsain for electoral gains, asserting the Gangotri of the hill state's future development will flow from the remote hill town.
"Those who read politics into the move should better understand that the Gangotri of Uttarakhand's development will flow from Gairsain only. It is not just a gesture honouring the sentiment of those who fought for statehood to Uttarakhand but also a historic step spelling out our priorities in the state's development roadmap in which hills occupy a prominent place," he said.
The government is likely to curtail its expenditure by not pressing its lone helicopter to fly Rawat along with his Cabinet colleagues from Dehradun to Gairsain. Chief Secretary Subhash Kumar along with other top bureaucrats will travel by cars to attend the session, the first of its kind in the 14-year history of the hill state. "We all are going by cars to Gairsain," said Surendra Kumar, a spokesperson of the state government.
Criticising the BJP for casting doubts on the Congress' seriousness regarding Gairsain, Rawat said it was a great irony that a party which did not dare touch the issue despite being long in power is suspecting the intent of a party which took genuine steps to honour the sentiments of Uttarakhand statehood heroes by laying the foundation stone of an Assembly building at Gairsain and having a session of the House there.
The chief minister has so far refused to accord any capital status to Gairsain. But political observers acknowledged the Gairsain move might be an astute political move to exploit the sentiments of thousands of statehood activists, who want the town be made the permanent capital of Uttarkahand.
Ever since Derhadun was made interim capital in 2000, the shrill for the permanent capital status to Gairsain, a small town in Chamoli district, has refused to die down in the state.
Denying the charge that it was a political stunt in view of the forthcoming Panchayat and Assembly bypolls in the state, Rawat made a reference to his inaugural speech in the state Assembly after being sworn in that he intended to a session of the state assembly at Gairsain.
"That was in February when Panchayat elections were far away. Still, Gairsain was very much in my mind," he said, adding he would be very happy if the three-day session could debate burning issues like migration from the hills besides promotion of technical and skill based education among the hill population. The chief minister has so far refused to accord any capital status to Gairsain. But political observers acknowledged the Gairsain move might be an astute political move to exploit the sentiments of thousands of statehood activists, who want the town be made the permanent capital of Uttarkahand.
Ever since Derhadun was made interim capital in 2000, the shrill for the permanent capital status to Gairsain, a small town in Chamoli district, has refused to die down in the state.
