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Category: Politics

  • Mamata eyes alliance with Samajwadi Party in UP polls

    Mamata eyes alliance with Samajwadi Party in UP polls

    He said the Trinamool was focusing on building a strong organisational structure and cadre base in Uttar Pradesh…reports Asian Lite News.

    The Trinamool Congress is looking towards an alliance with the Samajwadi Party for the Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections, due early next year.

    A decision on this is expected to be taken by the leaders of both the parties in the coming weeks.

    The Trinamool has already launched its mass contact programme in Uttar Pradesh from Pilibhit where farmers had staged a protest on the issue of cane dues. At least two districts in each of the 18 divisions will be covered to gauge the mood of the people and their expectations.

    Mamata

    Trinamool state president Neeraj Rai said, “We will tell the people about the policies implemented by us in West Bengal and will seek public feedback on the welfare policies of the state government. We will prepare the manifesto of the Trinamool Congress based on the expectations of the people.”

    He said the Trinamool was focusing on building a strong organisational structure and cadre base in Uttar Pradesh.

    “The party has added 100 committed members in more than 30 districts through the membership drive launched in May. The party leadership wants a strong unit in UP with a committed workforce ahead of the 2024 General Elections. Wherever we go, people want to know how we defeated the BJP in West Bengal,” he added.

    Sources in the Samajwadi Party said that the alliance with Trinamool could materialise since Akhilesh Yadav shares a warm rapport with West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Chief Mamata Banerjee.

    “Besides, she is now an opposition mascot who crushed communal forces in her state against all odds. Her campaign in UP will certainly boost the opposition in general,” said a SP spokesman.

    No tickets for office-bearers in UP polls: BJP

    The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Uttar Pradesh has made it clear that no office-bearer at the state level or district level would be eligible to contest elections. The party has said that if anyone was keen to contest polls, he or she would have to step down from the party post.

    State BJP chief Swatantra Dev Singh has already warned party leaders not to put up hoardings in their respective constituencies and claim their candidature.

    According to sources, BJP’s general secretary (organisation), Sunil Bansal made this rule amply clear at a party meeting.

    A BJP leader, who was present in the meeting, said that Bansal’s directive became talk of the meeting in which there were ample indications that several sitting MLAs may not get the ticket again.

    Party sources said that the performance of the party in the panchayat elections would be one of the factors that would decide the fate of sitting MLAs.

    “The MLAs in whose constituency the party fared poorly in panchayat elections may not get a ticket. Besides, reports of the party’s internal surveys about a legislator’s performance, will also be a deciding factor,” a party functionary said.

    The BJP, in the past, had declared that relatives of party leaders would not be given a chance to contest panchayat elections. However, the party later gave preference to the winnability factor and willingly gave tickets to sons, daughters and wives of its leaders.

    “In politics, rules are made to be broken and finally, it is the winnability factor that ultimately matters. It is only the performance of a legislator that can dilute the anti-incumbency factor. The party is determined to repeat its 2017 performance of 300+ seats and winnability is all that will matter,” said the functionary.

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  • Yogi’s image against Kolkata flyover sparks criticism

    Yogi’s image against Kolkata flyover sparks criticism

    The advertisement “Transforming Uttar Pradesh Under Yogi Adityanath” carried on Sunday in an English language publication has a cut-out of Mr Adityanath with a flyover that resembles Kolkata’s “Maa flyover..reports Asian Lite News.

    In a major embarrassment, a full-page advertisement carried in a national English daily showcasing the industrialisation and development of Uttar Pradesh under UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanth featured a photograph of Kolkata’s Maa flyover. The advertisement drew sharp criticism from several top ministers and leaders of the Trinamool Congress accusing Adityanath of “stealing images from infrastructure scenes in Bengal”. The English daily, later, owned the responsibility of the fault.

    “Transforming UP for @myogiadityanath means stealing images from infrastructure seen in Bengal under @MamataOfficial’s leadership and using them as his own! Looks like the ‘DOUBLE ENGINE MODEL’ has MISERABLY FAILED in BJP’s strongest state and now stands EXPOSED for all!,” TMC general secretary Abhishek Banerjee tweeted.

    The tweet was immediately followed by Mukul Roy who has recently joined TMC from BJP. “Mr @narendramodi is so helpless to save his party that other than changing CMs, he has also had to resort to using pictures of growth & infrastructure seen under @MamataOfficial’s leadership, as his own,” Roy retweeted.

    There were several others including State Transport Minister Firhad Hakim, Commerce and industry minister Partha Chatterjee and MP Mahua Moitra who joined the chorus. “Previously, BJP used photos from failures of law & order of their states to spread misinformation about West Bengal. Now they use photos of the flyover built under the leadership of #MamataBanerjee and under the chairmanship of KMDA to advertise for the ‘development’ in UP,” Hakim said.

    “Thuggy Yogi in his UP ads with Kolkata’s MAA flyover, our JW Marriott & our iconic yellow taxis! Change your soul or at least your ad agency Gudduji!…. P.S. Looking forward to FIRs against me in Noida now,” Moitra wrote.

    “When even Ajay Bisht can’t help himself but use pictures of #BengalModel for his own publicity… Slow claps!” Chatterjee tweeted.

    The advertisement “Transforming Uttar Pradesh Under Yogi Adityanath” carried on Sunday in an English language publication has a cut-out of Mr Adityanath with a flyover that resembles Kolkata’s “Maa flyover” that connects the central part of the city with Salt Lake and Rajarhat located in the northeastern fringes of the city. The image also has Kolkata’s iconic yellow taxi and a high rise that resembles a five-star hotel in the city next to the Maa Flyover.

    The English daily, however, later in the day ran a statement admitting that the fault lies with the marketing and advertorial team of the newspapers. The statement said, “A wrong image was inadvertently included in the cover collage of the advertorial on Uttar Pradesh produced by the marketing department of the newspaper. The error is deeply regretted and the image has been removed in all digital editions of the paper”.

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  • Alam’s nomination as Hurriyat chief marks end of separatist politics

    Alam’s nomination as Hurriyat chief marks end of separatist politics

    Anybody, be he a Muslim or the follower of any other faith, who stands between his pursuit of ‘freedom’ and him, is an ‘infidel’ whose elimination is part of the struggle started by him…reports Asian Lite News.

    The succession of senior separatist leader, Syed Ali Geelani by Masrat Alam as the chairman of All Party Hurriyat Conference has much more to it than meets the eye.

    Known as the ‘King of stone peters’ in Kashmir, Masrat Alam apparently heads his own faction of separatist leaders called the Muslim League.

    Beyond the name of his so-called political outfit, there is nothing political about Masrat Alam.

    He is a known hardcore separatist ideologue who stands for the merger of Kashmir with Pakistan.

    That is Alam’s political belief, but he believes, beyond any shade of doubt, that his ‘political objective’ can only be achieved through an armed struggle.

    No other separatist leader has been booked under the harsh Public Safety Act (PSA) in J&K as many times as Alam.

    He holds the unenviable record of having been slapped with the PSA by the authorities over 40 times.

    He was arrested in 2015 and is presently under detention.

    He played a pivotal role to convert the Amarnath Shrine land row of 2008 into a bloody agitation.

    Arson, intimidation, physical violence and murder of those who do not agree with his belief are some of the choice tools Alam believes must be used to fight the ‘infidels’.

    Anybody, be he a Muslim or the follower of any other faith, who stands between his pursuit of ‘freedom’ and him, is an ‘infidel’ whose elimination is part of the struggle started by him.

    The fact that Alam was nominated from across the border as the chairman of the Hurriyat Conference and as Geelani’s successor, has another interesting angle to it.

    The inability of any of the over a dozen senior separatist leaders, including Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, Shabir Shah, Nayeem Khan or even Geelani’s son-in-law, Altaf Shah, proves the mistrust these separatist leaders have earned over the years in the eyes of their handlers in Pakistan.

    Supporters of these separatist leaders try to rub off the salt from their wounds by saying these leaders are against violence.

    This argument does not cut much ice because each time they called for a protest shutdown in Kashmir in the past, stone pelting and support from the armed outfits always came handy to make such ‘appeals’ successful.

    Geelani, in his own lifetime, had been expressing public mistrust of all other leaders, including some from his own parent organisation, the Jamaat-e-Islami.

    He broke loose from the United Hurriyat Conference in 2003 after accusing some of its constituents for fielding dummy candidates in the 2002 Assembly elections.

    He also broke away from the Jamaat in 2008 forming his own party called the ‘Tehreek-e-Hurriyat’.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f1k4jPbXisw

    Those close to him argue that he had been betrayed by almost all senior separatist leaders.

    The truth about whether Geelani disliked his separatist colleagues for not accepting him as their undisputed leader or for reasons of their divided loyalties will now remain interred with him.

    The net result has been that the political face of separatism in Kashmir was finally lost in Geelani’s death.

    Masrat Alam as the chairman of the Hurriyat Conference will always remain as somebody for whom dialogue and engagement are as meaningless today as they were yesterday.

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  • Congress to sever ties with two ‘Mahajot’ allies in Assam

    Congress to sever ties with two ‘Mahajot’ allies in Assam

    She said that at Monday’s meeting, a discussion was also held with regard to the alliance with the Bodoland Peoples Front (BPF)…reports Asian Lite News.

    The Congress-led ‘Mahajot’ (Grand Alliance) in Assam was on the verge of collapse with the Congress on Monday announcing that it has decided to sever the alliance with the Badruddin Ajmal-led AIUDF and tribal party BPF.

    A core committee meeting, presided over by state Congress President Bhupen Bora, observed that the AIUDF’s behaviour and attitude in relation to the ruling BJP has “baffled” his party.

    “The AIUDF (All India United Democratic Front) leadership and senior members continuously and mysteriously praising the BJP and the Chief Minister (Himanta Biswa Sarma) has affected the public perception of the Congress. In this connection, after a long discussion, the Core Committee members of the APCC (Assam Pradesh Congress Committee) unanimously decided that the AIUDF can no longer remain an alliance partner of ‘Mahajot’ and in this regard, will send intimation to the AICC,” Congress’s chief spokesperson Bobbeeta Sharma said.

    She said that at Monday’s meeting, a discussion was also held with regard to the alliance with the Bodoland Peoples Front (BPF).

    “Since the BPF had already expressed their unwillingness in various forums to remain in the ‘Mahajot’, therefore the APCC President has been given full authority to take decision on this matter and intimate the High Command,” Sharma said.

    The Congress, which governed Assam for 15 years (2001-2016), managed 29 seats in the March-April elections, three more than 2016 polls, when it lost Assam to the BJP. Of the other partners of the 10-party “Mahajot”, the AIUDF won 16 seats up from 13 last time, the BPF got four seats against 12, and the Communist Party of India-Marxist won just one seat.

    The Monday’s core committee meeting also observed that inter-state border issues in the northeast have gradually increased during the tenure of the BJP government.

    It expressed deep concern at the “unprecedented deteriorating relations” with neighbouring Mizoram over border dispute and condemned the failure of both Central and state governments on maintaining cordial relations with neighbouring states on the border issues.

    Sharma said that the killing of five truck drivers in Dima Hasao district by the militants and the daylight murder of girl student Nandita Saikia in Dhemaji district with a machete proves that the state government has failed to control the law and order situation in the state.

    She said that the Assam Congress leaders take strong exception to the state government announcement of the increase of daily wage of tea workers to Rs 205 per day which is way below the electoral promise of wage increase to Rs 351 by the BJP in 2016.

    “Moreover the wage is also less than the first BJP Government’s notification of 2021 which had added Rs 50 just before the assembly elections and increased it to Rs 217.

    “This notification was also withdrawn and now only Rs 38 has been increased. The APCC strongly condemned this betrayal to the tea tribe community and demanded that the state government fulfilled the daily wage increase of tea workers as promised,” Sharma said.

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  • Nothing on record to show Tharoor incited Pushkar to commit suicide: Court

    Nothing on record to show Tharoor incited Pushkar to commit suicide: Court

    The court added the prosecution has not been able to point out even one instance where the accused had done something purposefully which facilitated the commission of the offence… reports Asian Lite News.

    A Delhi court, while discharging Congress MP Shashi Tharoor in the case related to death of his wife Sunanda Pushkar, said there is nothing on record to show he had “provoked, incited or induced the deceased to commit suicide”, and that she might have felt distressed or mentally disturbed with his alleged extra-marital relation, “but mental disturbances does not constitute the offence of abetment”.

    In the 176-page order, special judge Geetanjali Goel said: “There is nothing to demonstrate any overt act on the part of the accused (Tharoor) and only on the ground that he continued the alleged affair with MT (a Pakistani journalist) (even if it is assumed) and exchanged messages with her, it cannot be presumed that he had abetted the commission of suicide by the deceased.”

    Emphasising criminal trials require evidence, the court said there is no doubt a precious life was lost, but in the absence of specific allegations and sufficient material, it cannot presume Tharoor had committed the offence, and he cannot be compelled to face the rigmarole of a criminal trial.

    The court added the prosecution has not been able to point out even one instance where the accused had done something purposefully which facilitated the commission of the offence.

    “There is no material whatsoever against the accused, much less any positive act to instigate or aid the deceased in committing the suicide, even if it is assumed that the death was a suicide. As such, it is not shown, even prima facie, that the offence under Section 306 IPC is made out against the accused,” said the court.

    The court observed that Pushkar might have felt distressed or mentally disturbed with the alleged extra-marital relation of the accused, but mental disturbance does not constitute the offence of abetment.

    The court further added even it cannot be said that a person subjecting a woman to cruelty is guilty of abetment unless something is brought on record. “Even for instigation, the intention to provoke, incite, urge or encourage doing of an act is an essential factor but the record does not bear out any such intention on the part of the accused,” it said.

    The prosecution had argued that Tharoor had continued the affair with MT despite his assurance not to continue the same and this showed wilful misrepresentation and instigation by misrepresentation.

    Junking this contention, the court said: “There is nothing on record to show that the accused did some act in order to irritate or annoy the deceased until she reacted or strongly persuaded or advised the deceased to do some act with the intention to provoke, incite, urge or encourage the latter to commit suicide.”

    The court on Wednesday had pronounced the order discharging Tharoor. Pushkar was found dead on the evening of January 17, 2014. Initially, Delhi Police investigated it as a murder, with an FIR registered under Section 302 (murder) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), but then it charged Tharoor under Sections 306 (abetment of suicide) and 498A (cruelty by husband).

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  • Shahnawaz Hussain admits differences in NDA in Bihar

    Shahnawaz Hussain admits differences in NDA in Bihar

    “As the number of MLAs of the BJP is higher than the JD-U, we have more responsibility to run the government smoothly than the JD-U,” Hussain said…reports Asian Lite News.

    Bihar Minister Syed Shahnawaz Hussain on Thursday admitted that differences have arisen between his Bharatiya Janata Party and the Janata Dal-United in the state, but there was no threat to the government.

    “There are differences in the Bihar NDA. The leaders of the BJP and the JD-U have differences of opinion on several issues, though both the parties are committed for better future of Bihar. The Nitish Kumar government will complete the tenure of 5 years,” he said while interacting with reporters in Muzaffarpur.

    “As the number of MLAs of the BJP is higher than the JD-U, we have more responsibility to run the government smoothly than the JD-U,” Hussain said.

    While Hussain was cautious on criticising the Nitish Kumar-led JDU, PWD Minister Nitin Navin openly said that the policies of Nitish Kumar, especially on the population control law, was not good.

    “I believe that population control law should be implemented in Bihar. It will help to bring a strong and healthy society. Population control policy is not one subject. If it is implemented in the country, everyone will come under this law. The awareness can come after the implementation of laws,” he said.

    Nitish Kumar has a clear stand on population control law, saying that the population can be control only after education and awareness of females in the society.

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  • Mamata meets Sonia; discusses political situation, Pegasus

    Mamata meets Sonia; discusses political situation, Pegasus

    The West Bengal Chief Minister also termed the meeting as positive, saying that the results will be seen in the coming days…reports Asian Lite News.

    West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Wednesday met interim Congress President Sonia Gandhi here and discussed the current political situation in the country as well as the Pegasus snoogate row.

    Former Congress President and Sonia Gandhi’s son, Rahul Gandhi, was also present during the meeting.

    The meeting was held at Sonia Gandhi’s residence at 10 Janpath here.

    After the meeting, Banerjee said that she was invited for tea by the Congress chief and that Rahul Gandhi was also present there.

    “We discussed the current political situation, Pegasus and the Covid condition, besides discussing opposition unity,” Banerjee said.

    The West Bengal Chief Minister also termed the meeting as positive, saying that the results will be seen in the coming days.

    She said the Pegasus spyware row was also discussed in the meeting, and asked why the government is not responding to the alleged snooping charges.

    “If the Pegasus issue is not discussed in the Lok Sabha or the Rajya Sabha, where will it be discussed? The government should answer,” she said.

    Talking about opposition unity, the Trinamool Congress supremo said, “Everyone has to come together to defeat the BJP. Alone, we (Trinamool) are nothing; everyone has to work together.”

    Asked if she would be the face of the opposition in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Banerjee said, “I am not a leader, I am a worker. I am a person from the streets. All the opposition parties will sit together and decide who will lead the fight against (Prime Minister Narendra) Modi.

    “I want to see ‘sachche din, bahut achche din dekh liya’ (I want to see truthful days, seen enough of good days). Now ‘khela’ (game) will happen in the whole country.”

    Later on Wednesday evening, Banerjee is expected to meet Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.

    On Tuesday, she had met Prime Minister Narendra Modi. After the meeting, Banerjee had said, “It was a courtesy meeting. I told the Prime Minister about the need for more vaccines and medicines in West Bengal. I also raised the pending issue of change of name of the state, to which the Prime Minister said he will see.”

    On Tuesday, she had also met Congress leaders Kamal Nath and Anand Sharma, among others.

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  • Mamata meets Modi, demands more vaccines, medicines

    Mamata meets Modi, demands more vaccines, medicines

    Banerjee also discussed several different projects of the state and tax issues…reports Asian Lite News.

    West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi for what she called a courtesy meeting. This is the first official meeting between Prime Minister and Banerjee in the national capital after she became chief minister of West Bengal for the third time after stunning victory in assembly polls. The meeting, held at Prime Minister’s residence, lasted for around 45 minutes.

    It is learnt that during the meeting, Banerjee discussed Covid situation in the state and demanded more vaccines and medicines for the state.

    After meeting with the Prime Minister, Banerjee said, “It was a courtesy meeting. I told the Prime Minister about need of more vaccines and medicines in the West Bengal. I also raised the pending issue of change of the name of the state on which the Prime Minister said he will see.”

    In July, 2018, West Bengal assembly passed a resolution to change the name of the state to Bangla.

    Banerjee also discussed several different projects of the state and tax issues.

    On issue of her meeting with the opposition leaders, Banerjee said, “Many parties and their leaders are old friends. I am meeting them.”

    Banerjee also said that she will be meeting Congress interim president Sonia Gandhi on Wednesday.

    “On Wednesday, I am meeting Sonia Gandhi. She has invited me for tea,” she said.

    On her plan to bringing all opposition parties on one platform, She said, “Though the Lok Sabha polls are far away, we must have to start planning in advance. Assembly elections will be held in Uttar Pradesh, Punjab and Tripura. Our people were arrested in Tripura.”

    Earlier she met Congress leader and former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath.

    Banerjee’s meeting with opposition leaders is being seen as an attempt to bring all the opposition parties together before 2024 Lok Sabha polls. She is also likely to meet NCP chief Sharad Pawar on Wednesday.

    Mamata Banerjee is in Delhi on a five-day visit.

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  • Sawant, not Shripad Naik, maybe BJP’s face for 2022 polls: Nadda

    Sawant, not Shripad Naik, maybe BJP’s face for 2022 polls: Nadda

    “Pramod Sawant has done a good job. There has been all round development under Pramod Sawant’s leadership. We are moving ahead with his leadership,” Nadda said…reports Asian Lite News.

    Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and not Union Minister of state for Tourism and Ports Shripad Naik — an MP from Goa — may be the face of the party for the 2022 state Assembly polls, BJP national president J.P. Nadda hinted on Sunday.

    Nadda, however, said that the final decision on the selection of the party’s leader for the polls would be taken by the Bharatiya Janata Party’s national parliamentary board, the political outfit’s highest decision-making body.

    “Pramod Sawant has done a good job. There has been all round development under Pramod Sawant’s leadership. We are moving ahead with his leadership,” Nadda said.

    The top BJP official, however, said that such a decision is declared by the party’s deciding authority, the parliamentary board.

    When asked about the demands made by some party leaders to appoint Union Minister of State Shripad Naik, who is a Lok Sabha MP from North Goa, as the party’s face for the 2022 polls, Nadda said that the Union Minister was doing a “very good job” in Delhi.

    “He is doing a very good job in Delhi and he is taking care of things… Everybody has an interest, but the interest has to be taken care of by the party. He (Naik) has been assigned a job in Delhi, which he is doing very well,” Nadda said.

    Sawant assumed charge as the Chief Minister of Goa in 2019, following the death of former Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar following a prolonged battle with pancreatic cancer.

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  • BJP focusing on Kumaon region ahead of 2022 polls

    BJP focusing on Kumaon region ahead of 2022 polls

    Underlying its stress on the Kumaon region, the Bharatiya Janata Party has made Pushkar Singh Dhami, a two-time MLA, the new Chief Minister…reports Shashi Bhushan

    While trying to keep its house in order ahead of next year’s Assembly polls, the BJP in Uttarakhand is now focusing on Kumaon, and has started promoting leaders from the region at state and national level to match the stature of former Chief Minister Bhagat Singh Koshiyari.

    Underlying its stress on the Kumaon region, the Bharatiya Janata Party has made Pushkar Singh Dhami, a two-time MLA, the new Chief Minister and Ajay Bhatt, a Minister of State in the Union Council of Ministers.

    A state BJP leader said: “There is a leadership vacuum within the party from Kumaon. Once there were many tall leaders but currently there are none and it seems that the party leadership is trying to establish Dhami and Bhatt as leaders from the region.”

    Another party leader claimed that at present, there is no BJP leader who can fill in the shoes of Koshiyari, Bacchi Singh Rawat and Prakash Pant but the BJP is seeking to project both Dhami and Bhatt from the region to compete against former Chief Minister Harish Rawat, who is also the tallest leader of opposition Congress in the state from Kumaon.

    While Koshiyari is currently the Maharashtra Governor, Pant died in 2019 and Bacchi Singh Rawat passed away earlier this year.

    “By making Dhami the new state Chief Minister and inducting Bhatt in the Union Cabinet as a minister, the party leadership has shown its new focused approach towards the Kumaon region. By choosing Dhami as the Chief Minister months before the state Assembly polls, our leadership has pitted a young face against Harish Rawat, said the BJP leader.

    BJP’s prominent Brahmin face from Garhwal, Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’, was earlier this month dropped from the Modi ministry in the cabinet reshuffle and Bhatt, who is a Brahmin leader from Kumaon region, replaced him.

    Shri Bhagat Singh Koshyari (pic credit wikipedia)

    A party functionary said by picking Dhami and Bhatt, the party leadership has also given representation to the majority communities in the Kumaon region. “Thakurs and Brahmins have a majority in the Kumaon region. Dhami is a Thakur and Bhatt is a Brahmin leader,” he added.

    A section in the party feels that by giving more representation to leaders from Kumaon, the BJP leadership is trying to pacify voters who were angry with then Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat’s decision of carving out another commissionerate with its headquarters in Gairsain and making Almora a part of it.

    The decision was suspended by his successor, Tirath Singh Rawat, in his short tenure.

    “During the election year, you cannot make anyone unhappy and it seems party leadership has started giving Kumaon its due to make people happy ahead of next year’s polls,” said a state BJP leader.

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