Dehra Dun: Congress General Secretary Rahul
Gandhi is sending his emissary on Tuesday to meet party MLA
Kishore Upadhyay, whose fast entered 10th day on 31st March at Chamba
area of Tehri.
Jitendra Bhanwar, an MP from Rajasthan, along with
Uttarakhand PCC president Yashpal Arya would travel to Chamba
where Upadhyay is sitting on an indefinite fast, state party
spokesman Rajiv Maharshi said.
Meanwhile, Union Minister of State for Agriculture Harish
Rawat also met with Uttarakhand Chief Minister urging him to
fulfill Upadhyay's demands.
"The Minister during his meeting with Nishank urged him to
accept the demands of Upadhyay," said Surendra Agrawal,
spokesman of the minister. Nishank has also assured him that
government would try to accept some of his demands, he said.
The Tehri MLA had resumed his indefinite fast on March 22
in the state Assembly. After being forcibly evicted from the
House, he continued his fast outside Vidhan Sabha from where
he was forcefully shifted to the hospital on March 25.
However, fearing force-feeding by administration, he
shifted his fasting venue to Chamba, a part of his Tehri
constituency on March 29.
Earlier, Upadhyay had begun his fast on March 14 but on
the assurance of state government in the presence of Speaker
Harbans Kapoor and Leader of the Opposition and Congress MLA
Harak Singh Rawat, he deferred it till March 21.
Upadhyay have already announced that he would not break
his fast till all his 25 demands are met and he would not
drink even water from next week to press for his demands. He
had also refused to take any medicines or glucose drip in the
hospital.
Setting up a university at Ranichauri in Tehri, creating a
separate district of Pratapnagar, opening of schools, colleges
and hospitals, strengthening infrastructural facilities and
starting water sports activities in the Tehri dam lake are
among the 25 demands put up by the legislator.
PTI
First Published: Thursday, March 31, 2011, 22:05