Dehradun: Senior BJP leader Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank on Monday accused the Congress of opposing the creation of Uttarakhand and wanting it to be made only a Union Territory when the statehood movement was at its peak.
The people of the state have not forgotten how one of the Congress leaders had even said that Uttarakhand will be built on his dead body, Pokhriyal, also a former chief minister of Uttarakhand and a former Union minister, said.
“The Congress leaders were never in favour of making Uttarakhand a separate state and wanted it to be made a union territory,” he said.
On the contrary, the BJP did not just create Uttarakhand but also ensured an ‘unprecedented development’ of the state in its health, education and infrastructure sectors, he said.
Historic work done in the state over the last five years included the establishment of medical colleges in Srinagar, Haldwani, Dehradun and Almora, he added.
The budget of the Health Department has been increased from Rs 837 crore to Rs 3000 crore over the last five years, the former chief minister said.
Lakhs of families in the state have benefitted from the Ayushman Bharat scheme, a fact everyone in Uttarakhand can acknowledge, he added.
Other developmental work that Pokhriyal counted included the Rishikesh to Karnprayag rail line, upgradation of highways, the construction of elevated roads in general and the upcoming one between Delhi and Dehradun in particular.
Now it takes only 40 minutes to reach Dehradun from Laksar, whereas earlier it used to take two hours and three to four hours in case of a jam, he said.
He said Dehradun airport too is now going to become an international airport.
The BJP has proven its respect for servicemen with Prime Minister Narendra Modi implementing one-rank-one-pension which had remained stuck for 40 years, he added.
“The Congress on the other hand always insulted soldiers. One of their leaders once even called late General Bipin Rawat a streetside hooligan,” he said.
Slamming the Congress party for this, he said the party had no remorse for what it did and never apologised for it.