Uttarakhand govt's beginning itself was on wrong note:Oppn

Dehradun, Mar 13 (UNI) The Congress today said the BJP's claim to curb unnecessary expenditure in Uttarakhand failed from the very day when new Chief Minister Maj Gen(Retd) B C Khanduri was sworn in at a pompous ceremony burdening the public exchequer.

Newly-nominated leader of opposition Harak Singh Rawat said ''Organising such a big function that lasted for just ten minutes, and where only two ministers was sworn in, was a total waste of public money.'' Criticising the presence of religious Hindu leaders on the platform during the ceremony, Mr Rawat, a Congress MLA from Lansdowne, Pauri, told reporters that it gave the wrong message to the members of other religions.

''The function looked more like an activity of a fanatic party than a government function,'' he said adding all the religious leaders should have been invited to the ceremony instead of people only from a particular religion.'' ''It is not a good sign for the state that has always stuck to its secular ideology'', he said.

Mr Rawat was nominated leader of Congress Legislature party by party supremo Sonia Gandhi after a meeting had failed to reach to the decision and responsibility rested on the high command.

Talking to the media for the first time after his nomination, he said the opposition would protest vehemently outside and inside the House, any decision of the government found to be against public interest.

''However, we would also welcome and support the government for any of its programmes or policies that are for the welfare of the public,'' he added.

Mr Rawat said as an opposition party it would raise the issues of unemployment, development, security and welfare of dalits and minorities inside the House and outside as well. However, it would stick to democratic norms, he said.

Expressing his concern over the public uproar in Srinagar in Pauri District following an MMS doing the rounds in which shops of a particular community were attacked by students under the organisation of another community, Mr Rawat said it was done to instigate communal hatred.

''This should not happen and the whole community could not be tried for the crime of a single person,'' he said maintaining that the culprit ought to be brought to book irrespective of his caste and creed.

Answering queries about the BJP government's announcement to hold probe on all the scams that allegedly came to light during the Congress regime, Mr Rawat said ''My party does not have any objection to it. However, the probe should not be based on political rivalry or presumptions,'' he said.

UNI