Cong activists protest relocation of Block Development Office from Nagrota Surian

Local Congress activists expressed their strong opposition to the state government’s recent notification to relocate the over five-decade-old Block Development Office from Nagrota Surian to Jawali. A meeting was convened last evening at Nagrota Surian by Dr. Gulshan Kumar, former general secretary of the Kangra district Congress committee, to discuss this pressing issue.

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During the meeting, senior Congress members voiced their frustration regarding the relocation decision, pledging to prevent the office from shifting to Jawali, the subdivisional headquarters. They accused the government of conspiring to marginalise the Nagrota Surian region by transferring ten gram panchayats from this development block to Dehra block following the Assembly byelection victory of Kamlesh Thakur, wife of Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu.

The activists criticised recent actions that saw four gram panchayats merged into the newly established Nagrota Surian Nagar Panchayat without consulting local Congress leaders. Angered by this oversight, they called out Agriculture Minister Chander Kumar for neglecting traditional party workers who have dedicated decades to the Congress cause.

Concerns were raised that if the current situation persists, the Congress party could face significant political fallout in upcoming elections for Panchayati Raj Institutions and Nagar Panchayats in the Jawali Assembly constituency.

The protesting activists also voiced their support for an ongoing relay fast initiated by the ‘Save Nagrota Surian Development Block Sangharsh Samiti,’ now in its 13th day. Samiti coordinator Sanjay Mahajan emphasized that their movement is non-political and urged local Congress members to join their efforts.

Dr. Gulshan Kumar attempted to calm tensions by assuring attendees that former CPS and local ex-MLA Neeraj Bharti had recently met with the Chief Minister, advocating for the revocation of the relocation notification. He stressed that the Block Development Office holds historical significance and should remain in Nagrota Surian.

Prominent Congress figures such as PC Vishavkarma, Dr. HL Dhiman, Bhubnesh Sharma, Sunil Dutt Sharma, Raj Shehria, Ram Saroop, Manoj Kumar and Tilak Raj were also present at the meeting.