MADAN KAUSHIK APOLOGISES FOR USING STATE GOVT HELICOPTER IN BJP EVENT
DEHRADUN: Following a furore over using a state government helicopter for a party event, Bharatiya Janata Party state president Madan Kaushik on Friday issued an apology and said his party will bear the cost of the trip. Kaushik made the statement during a press conference at party state headquarters in Dehradun on Friday in presence of party state incharge Dushyant Kumar Gautam.
“I issue an apology for using a government helicopter to reach a party event in Bageshwar district from Dehradun a few days ago and receiving a guard of honour from police. It was a misunderstanding and party will bear the full cost of the helicopter trip,” Kaushik said.
The government had come under attack from the Congress which accused the ruling party of “exploiting government resources for party purposes in clear misuse of exchequer”.
On the April 7 bypolls in Salt, Bharatiya Janata Party state incharge Gautam said: “We are fully prepared for the bypolls in Salt for which a panel of six probables has already been sent to the party parliamentary board which will decide on the final name. We are completely sure of winning it with a big margin.”
The Congress, meanwhile, challenged the BJP to field CM Tirath Singh Rawat from Salt.
Party state general secretary Vijay Saraswat said, “If the party is so confident of winning the Salt bypolls by riding on their so-called development works in past four years, then why it is running away from fielding CM Rawat as the candidate? It will clear the air for them.” He said, “The BJP will lose the bypolls as well as the next assembly elections as they did nothing for the people of Uttarakhand in their last four years of rule.”