Uttarakhand Assembly adjourned as BJP raises Gairsain capital issue

Gairsain: Proceedings of the Uttarakhand Assembly were adjourned early Tuesday with Opposition BJP insisting on a debate on allocation of capital status to Gairsain.

As soon as the Question Hour began, Leader of Opposition in the State Assembly Ajay Bhatt demanded that all other business be put off and the issue of Gairsain be debated immediately in the House.

Bhatt said the state government's alleged ambiguity over declaring the remote hill town in Chamoli as capital has led to confusion and resentment among people.

The matter should be discussed and the state government should clarify its stand on the issue, he added.

Bhatt's demand for the suspension of all other business for a debate was opposed by Parliamentary Affairs Minister Indira Hridayesh which prompted almost all BJP members in the House to rise from their seats in solidarity with the Leader of Opposition.

Speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal intervened expressing his readiness for a discussion on the issue later in the House but that could not pacify the opposition members who kept clamouring on.

The Speaker then adjourned the house till 1220 hrs.

The BJP had created a ruckus in the House on the opening day of the session yesterday also insisting on a debate on the CD episode and a CBI probe into it.

Gairsain has been an emotive issue for Uttarakhand Kranti Dal which spearheaded the statehood agitation in the 1990s and is a strong votary of the idea of capital being located in the hills.