The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Wednesday accused Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami of seeking publicity by offering to help rain-struck Himachal Pradesh instead of dealing more seriously with the situation in his own state.
AAP was responding to Dhami's phone call to Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhwinder Singh Sukhu on Tuesday. Dhami inquired from Sukhu about the rain situation in his state and assured him of all possible help from the Uttarakhand government.
AAP's state organisation coordinator Jot Singh Bisht said Uttarakhand has been grappling with problems such as landslides, road closures, floods, roads and houses being washed away, rising water levels of rivers and waterlogging in populated areas due to heavy rains since last week.
People are losing their lives because of these, he added. In a statement issued here, Bisht said, "But instead of taking care of his own state, our chief minister is propagating the news of offering help to the Himachal Pradesh chief minister in the calamity. It is surprising. Does the chief minister want to give a message that everything is fine in Uttarakhand?"
The AAP leader said more than two dozen people have died in incidents due to excessive rains in the state in a week. Bisht also alleged that the Uttarakhand chief minister was more concerned about the disaster in neighbouring Himachal Pradesh. He accused Dhami of being a complete failure and said his Cabinet colleagues and officials were not listening to him.
