Where's Uttarakhand's permanent capital? Asks Harish Rawat

A day after Gairsain was made the summer capital of Uttarakhand, AICC general secretary Harish Rawat asked Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat on Tuesday to tell where the state's permanent capital is.

He popped up the question while congratulating the chief minister on the social media for the notification on Gairsain.

"I would congratulate Trivendra Singh ji for notifying Bhararisain:Gairsain: as Uttarakhand's summer capital. All I want to ask him is if Gairsain is its summer capital and Dehradun the temporary capital, where is the state's permanent capital," Rawat said.

When Uttarakhand was carved out of Uttar Pradesh, Dehradun was made its temporary capital. Now that Gairsain has been made its summer capital, the question that remains unanswered is where is the state's permanent capital, the Congress leader, a former chief minister of Uttarakhand, said.

The notification on Gairsain was issued on Monday after Governor Baby Rani Maurya gave her assent to it.

The chief minister had announced that Gairsain will be made the summer capital of the state during the budget session of the Assembly held there in March.

The issue of Gairsain being made the capital of Uttarakhand has been alive ever since the state was created on November 9, 2000.

The then NDA government at the Centre only let the confusion on the issue persist by making Dehradun the interim capital of the state.

Senior Congress leader Dhirendra Pratap termed the summer capital status to Gairsain an eyewash and said his party will continue to fight until it is made the permanent capital of Uttarakhand.

Meanwhile, the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) congratulated the people of the state for the notification on Gairsain, saying the chief minister's announcement has now turned into a reality.

Chief spokesperson of state BJP Munna Singh Chauhan said by making Gairsain the summer capital of Uttarakhand, the Trivendra Singh Rawat government has proved that there is no difference between what it says and what it does.

It will speed up development in the hill areas as people holding important offices will have an opportunity to understand first hand the problems of such areas, Chauhan said in a statement.

The move is dedicated to the people who sacrificed their lives for statehood to Uttarakhand, he added.