PoliticsUttarakhand
Dhami asks Congress to say if it backs Akhilesh's 'infiltrators from Uttarakhand' jibe
The Uttarakhand Chief Minister called the Samajwadi Party chief's remark a grave insult and recalled the police firings of the statehood movement under Mulayam Singh Yadav.
Key points
- Akhilesh Yadav said the 'biggest infiltrators' in UP were from Uttarakhand.
- Pushkar Singh Dhami called the remark 'a grave insult' to the state's people.
- He asked the Uttarakhand Congress, the SP's ally, to clarify its stand.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has asked the Congress to say whether it agrees with Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav, who said the “biggest infiltrators” in Uttar Pradesh came from Uttarakhand.
Speaking to reporters in Lucknow, Akhilesh had said that infiltrators had entered the contracting business, and news channels through investments in them. “And then, who are the biggest infiltrators in UP? Those from Uttarakhand,” he said.
Dhami answered in Khatima. “The entire world knows that Uttarakhand is a land of self-respecting, patriotic, and brave soldiers,” he said. “Making such remarks about Uttarakhand or its people is a grave insult to them.”
He reached back to the agitation for a separate state in the 1990s. “The people of Uttarakhand have not forgotten that during the tenure of Akhilesh Yadav’s father, Mulayam Singh Yadav, incidents such as the Khatima, Mussoorie, and Rampur Tiraha police firings took place,” Dhami said. “These events remain fresh in our memory.”
He then turned on the SP’s partner. “The Congress party in Uttarakhand must clarify whether it agrees with Akhilesh Yadav’s use of the term infiltrators,” he said. “Since the Congress and the Samajwadi Party are allies, work together, and even contest elections together, they must clarify their stand on this issue.”
Uttarakhand votes for a new Assembly in 2027, the same year as Uttar Pradesh. There was no response from the state Congress by early Sunday.