Dehradun: Alleging lapses in law and order in Uttarakhand following the rape and murder of a seven-year-old girl in Haldwani, BJP on Saturday demanded resignation of Harish Rawat government on moral grounds.
Leader of opposition in the state assembly, Ajay Bhatt, also asked the government to seek an apology from the people of the state.
"The state government should resign on its own on moral grounds and also seek an apology from the people of the state for forcing them to live in constant fear of wrongdoers," he said in a statement.
"The government is protecting criminals. Land and liquor mafia are calling the shots. The morale of wrongdoers has gone up like never before and law and order has touched a new low as illustrated by the rape and murder of a seven-year-old in Haldwani and the broad?daylight firing on an additional superintendent of police in Roorkee," he said.
The minister also alleged that "the time (six days) taken by police to trace the body of the seven-year-old victim in a small town like Haldwani and the daring with which mining mafia recently opened fire on an ASP in Roorkee shows how insecure common people have become under Harish Rawat government."
Bhatt accused the state government of being "evasive" and not having "guts to face the opposition" in the matter.
"The state government shied away from a debate on law and order in the House as it did not have the guts to face the opposition," he said.
Proceedings of the state Assembly were stalled by BJP members in the winter session of the assembly as they created a ruckus in the House demanding an urgent debate on death of the minor girl.
The state government has also criticised the rape and murder of a Delhi-based woman tourist and her male companion by a cab driver and his associates during Diwali holidays.
A one-man committee headed by Shailesh Bagoli has been formed to examine the manner in which the police handled the Haldwani case and the panel will submit its report within 10 days.
Haldwani ASP Navneet Bhullar and DSP Girish Chandra Tamta, who were handling the case before, have been transferred.
