Shimla: Himachal Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) President Kuldeep Singh Rathore has served a 15-day ultimatum to the state government to re-install the foundation stone plaque of the Atal Tunnel Rohtang.
Addressing media persons here on Monday, Singh said that his party has taken strong exception of the missing Foundation Stone of the Atal Tunnel Rohtang which had been laid by the then UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi on 28 June, 2010.
He claimed that there were photographs to prove that the foundation stone was laid by Sonia Gandhi during the tenure of the then Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal, who also is seen in the photograph along with Congress leaders including former Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh and ex-minister Vidya Stokes.
Alleging the foundation to have been removed by the district administration, he said “We have served an ultimatum to the Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur seeking re-installation of the said foundation stone within 15 days, failing which the Congress party will hold an agitation. The responsibility will lie entirely on the state government for any ill consequences of the same.”
Expressing surprise he said, “This is an undemocratic, unconventional and illegal step ever noticed in the history of the Indian democracy that the legally laid foundation stone of any project approved by the then government is removed after its completion to fulfill political goals of a particular ideology.”
Terming it as a wrong precedent, Rathore said that this will not be acceptable to the people of the state and is in a bad taste of democracy.
“We vehemently criticize this action and will oppose it tooth and nail,” he said, adding that his party will be forced to organize massive state level agitation against the state government and the district administration.
Pulling up the state government, he alleged that this was not the first instance and he had been receiving complaints from assembly constituencies of Lahaul and Spiti, Solan, Kinnaur and many other parts of the state regarding destruction of foundation or inauguration stones laid in Congress regime (2012-2017) by anti-social elements, FIRs for which have been registered but till date no action has been taken even a single miscreant, which vlearly shows that all these anti-social activities are black spot on Indian democracy and are being initiated to satisfy ruling ideology knowingly by the government and its administration.
Congress party has also written to the Director General of Police and District Commissioner, Kullu.
Rathore had also directed the Block Congress Manali to lodge a police complaint in the said matter.
