Cong leaders are ‘Naraaz Phufas’ & Rahul Gandhi is spreading lies: Dhami

By Arun Pratap SinghGarhwal Post Bureau
Dehradun, 14 Sep: Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami again launched a sharp attack today on the Congress and Rahul Gandhi, accusing the party of having no real issue left to raise and attempting to create confusion through programmes such as ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’. Describing Congress leaders as ‘’Naraaz phoofas’, Dhami said several claims made by Rahul Gandhi had been proved totally wrong and misleading in independent fact-checks. Dhami was speaking informally to the media persons at the Secretariat here today.
With the 2027 Assembly elections approaching, political activity has intensified in Uttarakhand. The BJP and Congress are now increasingly targeting each other over various issues. Dhami’s remarks come amid the continuing political controversy following BJP national president Nitin Nabin’s recent remarks about Rahul Gandhi during his Uttarakhand visit, which had drawn a sharp response from the Congress.
Taking a dig at Rahul Gandhi’s ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ programme, Dhami said the Congress has no substantive issue left and is therefore trying to spread ‘lies and confusion’. He said the programme was not ‘Chhatron Ki Goonj’ but “Jhooth Ki Goonj”. He added that a number of claims made by Rahul Gandhi have already been found to be incorrect during fact-checking.
On the controversy surrounding the Shuddikaran (purification) rituals at Ramleela Ground in Haldwani following Mallikarjun Kharge’s address there on 8 August, Dhami accused the Congress of deliberately trying to link the matter with caste and thereby create confusion and divide society. He said the purification and the havan were stated to have been performed in protest against “jihadi slogans” and had nothing to do with caste.
Dhami also reminded that those who conducted the purification havan themselves belonged to scheduled communities, including the Valmiki and Shilpkar communities. The same people who conducted the purification havan were accused of insulting caste and making casteist remarks.  The CM claimed that an attempt had been made to spread this narrative across the country by the Congress, but it failed.
The CM also hit out at the Congress over its allegations concerning the Uttarakhand Investment and Infrastructure Development Board (UIIDB), particularly the charge that the government was seeking to sell land to industrialists. He said the UIIDB has been constituted to promote investment in the state, accelerate economic activity and create new employment opportunities for the youth.
Dhami said similar institutions had already been established in states such as Punjab and Gujarat and were functioning effectively. He maintained that the Uttarakhand government has put in place the arrangements based on rules and regulations following the Global Investors Summit, in which investors from various sectors participated.
Dhami claimed that, in reality, it was the Congress that used to sell land when it was in power in Uttarakhand. Today, every system is transparent. He further accused the Congress of being uncomfortable with the investment coming to Uttarakhand and the employment opportunities being created for the state’s youth.
The CM further reminded that the government has so far freed around 13,000 acres of encroached government land across the state. Dhami asserted that the Congress had objected to the anti-encroachment action but has never acknowledged that the government has done well by reclaiming the land. Freeing more than 13,000 acres of government land from encroachment is causing considerable discomfort to the Congress government. He added that those whose politics revolves for a long time around family politics and appeasement are unable to accept the politics of transparency, good governance and development.
Dhami also referred to the encroachment issue in Banbhoolpura and accused the Congress of maintaining silence on the matter. He alleged that large-scale encroachment in the area had taken place during the Congress’s tenure and claimed that people associated with the Congress party had settled there. He added that there is large-scale encroachment in Banbhoolpura which was settled during the Congress rule by the people associated with the Congress party. Thousands of acres of land were occupied under the pretext of green sheets, blue sheets and sheets here and there, but not a word is spoken by the Congress leaders on that.
In a pointed reference to the state’s land, the CM said that Uttarakhand’s land can’t be treated as an open resource for anyone to occupy at will. The land of Uttarakhand is not green grass that anyone can come, graze on it and leave, he asserted.
Dhami asserted that protecting every inch of Uttarakhand’s land and preserving the original character of Devbhoomi remains a priority of his government. He said the government would continue to act firmly to protect forest and government land and the state’s identity.