'Lions do not hunt dogs': Ex-Uttarakhand CM Trivendra Singh Rawat's statement against Dalit IAS officer draws sharp criticism

The issue snowballed after Mining Secretary Brijesh Kumar Sant called the allegations of illegal mining 'baseless, false and misleading' and said that the biggest proof of this is the highest-ever increase in mining revenue in the current financial year after the formation of Uttarakhand.

Haridwar MP and former Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat landed himself in a controversy over his remarks against Brajesh Sant, a Dalit IAS officer and the state's Secretary of Mining, about whom he said: "Lions do not hunt dogs."

This comes after Rawat, the BJP MP from Haridwar, recently raised the issue of illegal mining in Uttarakhand in the Parliament and alleged that illegal mining trucks were being operated at night in Dehradun, Haridwar, Nainital, and Udham Singh Nagar districts. He claimed that they were moving without valid permission and by overloading trucks at night, causing damage to civic infrastructure.

However, the issue snowballed after Mining Secretary Brijesh Kumar Sant called the allegations "baseless, false and misleading", and said that the biggest proof of this is the highest-ever increase in mining revenue in the current financial year after the formation of Uttarakhand. "This is the first time that the target set for mining revenue was not only met but Rs 200 crore more revenue was earned than that."

When asked about Sant's response, Rawat reportedly said: "What to say? Lions do not hunt dogs."

Reacting to this, the state's IAS Association on Sunday passed a resolution stating that its members must be treated with due respect.

In a meeting under the chairmanship of Uttarakhand IAS Association president Anand Bardhan, the association in its resolution said that its members too have the right to self-respect. Any person, officer, institution and organisation should avoid such statements which may hurt the members of the association.

Meanwhile, a protest rally was also held in Haridwar's Jaatwada against the alleged remarks. His remarks also triggered a response from former chief minister Harish Rawat who supported the claim on illegal mining in the state but also criticised the remarks against the IAS officer.

"It is very strange that neither the central government nor the state government is acting against illegal mining. The mining mafia has dug up rivers and tributaries for sand mining," India Today quoted him as saying.

(With PTI inputs)