The Uttarakhand assembly witnessed a spat on Tuesday morning between the opposition Congress and the government on the issue of the report of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) that was tabled in the assembly on Monday.

The moment the House began its sitting, the Congress legislators raised the issue of irregularities to the tune of Rs 400 crore that have been pointed out under various heads by the CAG in its report. Besides the CAG report, the Congressmen along with the BSP members also raised the issue of water and power scarcity in the state and forced two adjournments during the question hour.

Chief Minister Dr Ramesh Pokhariyal Nishank later hit out at the opposition for making “baseless” allegations against the BJP government in the state and has accused it of wasting precious time of the House.

Nishank said, “CAG report is generally tabled in the House and not discussed. It goes to the Public Accounts Committee for study. They are going against the rules and tradition of the House.”

He further stated that the irregularities on which the Congress was trying to make an issue were all committed when the Congress government under Narayan Dutt Tewari was in power in the state. “The irregularities that have been pointed out by the CAG had all taken place when they have in power. They are misleading the people, which is unpardonable,” said Nishank.

Meanwhile, a member of the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal (UKD) Pushpesh Tripathi while raising questions on the validity of the Justice Virender Commission report tore its copy in the House. The Commission has said that Dehradun is a more feasible place for becoming the permanent capital of the state instead of the Gair Sain where the UKD wants the state capital.

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