BJP denying Cong Deputy Speaker’s post unethical, says Upadhyay

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, March 25

State Congress president Kishore Upadhyay has accused the newly formed BJP government of giving scant respect to constitutional norms by depriving the Opposition of the post of Deputy Speaker in the Assembly.

Upadhyay, while addressing a press conference here today, said there had been a tradition of giving the post of Deputy Speaker to the Opposition. “But the BJP has shown little respect to this tradition. It wants to take this post too,” he added.

He had even written to the Chief Minister about the constitutional traditions and practices, he said. Law and order was on a down slide ever since the BJP government had come to power in the state. Congress MLAs had started getting threats. “Only a few days ago, our MLA Mamta Rakesh received a threat to her life,” he claimed.

He said a delegation of Congress leaders would meet the DGP soon and seek his intervention in this regard.

Upadhyay also expressed concern over the previous day’s incident of brutal killing of a forest guard by quarrying mafia. The quarrying mafia needed to be checked. The Congress would resort to a statewide agitation if the police did not take action against the mafia responsible for the forest guard’s death, Upadhyay added. State Congress spokesman Mathura Dutt Joshi was also present.