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Uttarakhand Utsav: It has been 25 years since the formation of Uttarakhand. On this occasion, celebrations were held across the state. In this series, Live Times did an interview with former CM Harish Rawat, in which he candidly answered about the development of the state.
Uttarakhand Utsav: It has been 25 years since Uttarakhand was formed. On this occasion the state celebrated its silver jubilee. There was a festive atmosphere in the entire state. Cultural programs were organized at various places in the state. On this occasion, the government remembered the struggles of the people, who had sacrificed everything to create Uttarakhand. on this special occasion Live Times Of Editor in Chief Dilip Singh of Uttarakhand Former Chief Minister Harish Rawat Took an exclusive interview with. Read below in detail what former CM Harish Rawat said regarding the development of Uttarakhand and with what frankness he answered each question.
Dilip Singh: How will you tell the story of the history of Uttarakhand to the country, the world and the people in your own way after 25 years?
Harish Rawat: Our state was formed after long struggles. Here women, youth and agitators sacrificed their lives. Everyone here used to say that a state should be formed. We were not able to get along with Uttar Pradesh. Our problems could not be solved by sitting in Lucknow. Congress had said in its Calcutta session that small states should be formed, which would open the way for development. There was consensus from every political community that Uttarakhand should become a state. Congress passed this proposal in its session, which paved the way for the formation of Uttarakhand state. Said that after independence, Nehru created a consensus within the country as to what would be the direction of India, we were not able to create that kind of consensus within our state. These 25 years were full of curiosity for us. Our development was quite good in many areas. But in some matters we are still lagging behind. Said that till date he has not been able to decide how to run the state.
Dilip Singh: At the time of creation of Uttarakhand, two important parties Congress and BJP emerged. A mutual consensus could not be reached on what direction to take the state, what do you have to say on that.
Harish Rawat: The disappointment seen in the state today is the direction we wanted to take. Couldn’t catch him. Uttarakhandi could not make direction. Could not create a Himalayan state. The BJP government failed in this matter. There has been no achievement of the BJP’s double engine government in the development of the state in 15 years. After 2014, I changed the direction of development here. Tried to coordinate with people. But in 2017 we could not convince people. We have taken many decisions which are helping people even today.
Dilip Singh: First power came to you. ND Tiwari became CM. Somewhere, Congress could have taken the people along and decided the direction of development and the state through consensus, but it could not do so. A gap remained, which kept increasing. Perhaps things would have been better if this gap had not existed.
Harish Rawat: Tiwari ji was a very skilled leader. He was a scholar and an efficient administrator. Let us say that he was the Vice Chancellor of Oxford. We gave him the responsibility of running a primary school. Tiwari ji prepared a model of development throughout his life. But he did not take any big risk to do better. Said that today’s Harish Rawat is a harmonyist. When Tiwari ji became CM, there were many challenges at that time. He did a lot for the development of Uttarakhand. Many big industries were established in the state. All the industries of India came here.
Apart from industry, how will you see the journey of 25 years in the fields of migration, education and employment.
He had told Tiwari ji that 70 percent of the employment in industries should be provided to the people here. Tiwari ji did not want to take risk. He gave the names of some entrepreneurs and asked you to meet them. The benefits of formation of a state which should have reached the remote villages did not reach. Due to lack of development, villages are becoming empty. Tiwari ji was not in a position to take policy decisions even on the issue of the capital.
Dilip Singh: If Rawat ji had been the CM at that time, the picture would have been different.
Harish Rawat: But nothing can be expected from the then 80 year old Tiwariji. He could not take risks like he did at the age of 55. Nevertheless, Tiwari ji did a lot for the development of the state. During his time all the big industries of India came here. The dream of development that we had could not be fulfilled. Today, people are struggling with traffic jams everywhere in every city of the state. The development programs we made did not meet expectations. BJP’s double engine government has failed. BJP’s development model has failed. Our achievements in 10 years are considerable. There is an exodus of helplessness in the BJP government. People are leaving their homes and settling outside. Development could not take place in the state as per the expectations of the people, whereas all the basic things are there to move ahead in the world.
Dilip Singh: We have not been able to reach the expectations with which the state was created, where are the shortcomings left?
Harish Rawat: We became a copy of Uttar Pradesh. We could not create a Himalayan state. Whereas all the basic things are available here to progress in the world.
If you have any development plan then tell us.
We increased the connectivity of the village. Our aim was that the village products should get direct market. We made small markets in the village. We encouraged the farmers.
Also read: Exclusive interview of CM Dhami on completion of 25 years of Uttarakhand, only on Live Times
