Payment to singer Kailash stopped

Tribune News Service

Dehradun, April 27

After protest by BJP president Ajay Bhatt, the state Department of Information has withdrawn the payment made to Kailash Kher for his documentary on the Kedarnath temple from the money earmarked for the use of Department of Disaster Management.

Significantly, the previous Harish Rawat-led Congress government had hired singer Kailash Kher for preparing a documentary on the Kedarnath temple. Later, a controversy erupted after the then Opposition BJP charged the Congress government with diverting funds meant for the Department of Disaster Management.

The BJP had even made it a political issue. Now with the BJP government in power in Uttarakhand, it is believed that the final payment was also made from the same funds. “As soon as the matter came to light, I informed the Chief Minister and the payment has been stopped. After all, we had raised the issue when we were in the Opposition,” said Bhatt.