Pithoragarh, Uttarakhand: Congress MLA Harish Dhami accused Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami of corruption and challenged him to face him in a by-election amid a commotion at the inauguration of the Jauljibi Fair in Uttarakhand's Pithoragarh district on Saturday.
The controversy erupted after Harish Dhami, the Congress MLA from Dharchula, alleged that he had not been given an opportunity to address the gathering from the stage.
“The Chief Minister is running away and living in fear—he is afraid because he has engaged in corruption. As for me, I have never been involved in corruption or committed any wrongdoing; that is why I have nothing to fear. I stand tall and unafraid. I have told the Chief Minister today: ‘Take whatever action you wish to take. You have kept me entangled in legal cases for years on end—go ahead and file another one; I can handle that too. To us, handcuffs are like ornaments’,” Dhami told ANI.
Issuing a direct challenge to the Chief Minister, he said, “I have challenged Pushkar Dhami directly: ‘If you have the courage, face me in a by-election today. If I don't ensure that your security deposit is forfeited, then my name isn't Harish Dhami’.”
Dhami also criticised the Chief Minister over his remarks about the road to Lipulekh, referring to the death of an eight-year-old child.
“An eight-year-old child has lost his life, yet he feels no shame—instead, he boasts about having built such a beautiful road all the way to Lipulekh. Did he not feel even a shred of shame while saying this, considering he had visited the child's home just the day before to offer his condolences to the grieving family?” he said.
The Congress MLA said he had expected the Chief Minister to take concrete steps for the people of Kanar, who are on an indefinite hunger strike in Bitaugarh, and send a representative to persuade them to end their protest.
He also said the government should have sent a representative to meet the family of the eight-year-old child and acknowledged what he described as a failure on the government's part, while ensuring that no other child lost their life on the road.
The inauguration event witnessed heavy commotion, with Harish Dhami and his supporters allegedly throwing chairs from the stage and damaging a microphone after he claimed he was not allowed to speak.