BJP accuses Uttarakhand government of being hand in glove with mining mafia

Expressing concern over the "growing audacity" of mining mafia in Uttarakhand, Opposition BJP on Tuesday accused the state government of being "hand in glove" with them and said no official trying to rein in their activities was safe.

"The state government is hand in glove with the mining mafia who are getting away with whatever they want to do. The latest incident is the attack on a revenue officer trying to check mining activities in Haridwar's Jwalapur area. "The mining mafia also tried to run over an SDM in Vikasnagar area besides opening fire on an ASP in Haridwar recently," alleged Leader of Opposition in the state Assembly Ajay Bhatt in a statement here. Claiming that this showed the "growing audacity" of the mining mafia under the current dispensation, Bhatt wondered how Chief Minister Harish Rawat could remain silent in a situation like this.

"The mining mafia are getting away with whatever they want to do and the chief minister is yet to break his silence. This puts the whole government under suspicion. It seems the mafia are calling the shots and the state government is simply playing into their hands. The sooner this government goes, the better," Bhatt said. The BJP leader also accused the state government of spending most of its time trying to please disgruntled MLAs on whose support it exists and not paying enough attention to essential health services like 108 mobile health service.

He said budget for 108 mobile health service has not been released yet which has led to slipshod functioning of the service in rural areas. Bhatt attributed the death of an old woman in Dandasali village to non-availability of immediate medical care to her through 108 mobile health service.