DEHRADUN, November 6 (Aalimi Nation) – Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah on Friday inaugurated and laid foundation stones for development projects in Uttarakhand and, in the same address, sharply criticised Congress leader Rahul Gandhi's recent rallies on the revision of electoral rolls, a charge that the Congress had not responded to in the accounts available at the time of writing.
Projects and honours
Shah spoke at the Parade Ground in Dehradun at an event for Uttarakhand's Foundation Day, held ahead of the November 9 anniversary of the state's creation in 2000. Official broadcast reports put the projects at about ₹1,475 crore, while other reports put the figure for 63 projects at ₹1,508 crore. The two totals have not been reconciled.
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami attended. Shah and Dhami presented the Uttarakhand Gaurav Samman to 15 people, and awards including a lifetime achievement honour and the Bal Veerta Puraskar were also given. Shah was also scheduled to confer the President's Police Colour on Uttarakhand Police at a separate ceremony at the Police Lines.
Shah said former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee had fulfilled a long-standing demand by granting the state its status. He praised the work of the Dhami government and pointed to the Centre's efforts on road connectivity in border areas.
Remarks on the rolls revision
Turning to national politics, Shah criticised the rallies that Rahul Gandhi has been holding over the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls. Referring to them as a "Vote Bachao" yatra, he said they amounted to a campaign to protect what he called infiltrators, and he asked the audience whether such people should be removed from Uttarakhand and India. He also said Gandhi's visits to the state would make no difference and predicted that the Bharatiya Janata Party would win a third consecutive term.
These are Shah's characterisations; no evidence was cited in the accounts reviewed, and no reply from Gandhi or the Congress had been found.
Corruption allegations and development claims
Shah also attacked the earlier Congress government led by Harish Rawat. He alleged that the state Secretariat had become a hub for kickbacks, citing sting operations, and listed the SC/ST scholarship scam, a liquor policy sting and a food supply scam in the Kumaon region. He said the BJP had run a corruption-free administration for 10 years. These are the minister's allegations; no response from Rawat or the Congress was found.
On the state's economy, Shah said the Congress had left Uttarakhand dependent on a "money-order economy" and migration, while the BJP government had curbed migration and built an industrial base. He claimed tourism had grown by 380 per cent, the state's gross domestic product had risen 50 per cent since 2022 and per capita income had gone up 40 per cent. He said industrial projects worth ₹1 lakh crore were under way. These figures come from his speech and are unverified.
What is unclear
The reported totals for the projects differ. The Chief Minister's Office said the government is focusing on hill infrastructure, employment, investment and tourism. A reaction from the Congress is awaited.
