Harish Dhami mic row: Congress MLA allegedly vandalises Jauljibi fair stage, BJP demands FIR
The BJP's Pithoragarh unit has set a Sunday deadline for an FIR, saying it will otherwise block cultural programmes at the fair.
Written with AI assistance from the sources listed below, then checked against them and reviewed by an editor. How our newsroom works
Congress MLA Harish Dhami allegedly vandalised a stage at a fair in Pithoragarh on Saturday after he was denied a chance to speak in the presence of Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, who had inaugurated the event, PTI reported. The BJP condemned the language used from the stage and called for an FIR against the Dharchula MLA.
What happened at the Pithoragarh fair
Pushkar Dhami opened the 10-day Jauljibi Fair near the India-Tibet border, where traders sell goods from Tibet, India and Nepal, according to ThePrint’s copy of the PTI report. “The fair reflects the historical trade relations between the three regions, as well as the rich cultural heritage of the border area,” he said at the inauguration.
Shortly afterwards, Congress workers gathered to ask why Mayukh Singh Mahar, another Congress MLA from the district, had not been invited. Microphones and chairs were allegedly thrown on the stage after the CM left the venue.
Inshorts reported that Harish Dhami’s microphone was switched off while he was criticising the CM. He then abused the sound staff, threw the microphone at them and threw a chair, it said, and his supporters damaged the stage. A headline in the Free Press Journal said he called the CM a coward.
Key numbers
- 10 days: how long the Jauljibi Fair runs, per ThePrint.
- 3 regions: Tibet, India and Nepal supply the goods on sale, per the PTI report.
- 1 uninvited MLA: Mayukh Singh Mahar, whose absence the Congress protested, per PTI.
- Sunday afternoon: the BJP district unit’s deadline for an FIR, also in the ThePrint copy.
What Harish Dhami and his rivals said
Harish Dhami dared CM Dhami to contest from Dharchula and said the electorate would teach him a lesson, the Free Press Journal reported. The MLA said he was willing to contest from any constituency and defeat the CM if his party entrusted him with the responsibility.
District Congress president Mukesh Pant said: “By failing to invite an elected representative from the district, the government has completely disregarded all values.”
Senior BJP leader Mahendra Singh Budiyal said the event had already been shortened because of the CM’s time constraints. “The BJP views this as a sign of the MLA’s frustration, as the Congress party’s support base in the Dharchula assembly constituency is weakening,” Budiyal said.
Background: Uttarakhand Congress and the BJP
Attacks between the Uttarakhand Congress and the BJP have sharpened in recent weeks. NIS has covered the Harish Rawat and Rekha Arya row, the CM’s Gau Seva remark and the deletion of over 8 lakh names from the voter list.
What happens next
Budiyal said the BJP’s district unit has decided that cultural programmes at the fair will not be allowed if no FIR is filed against Harish Dhami by Sunday afternoon. Nothing in the reports reviewed said whether police had registered a case. The fair runs for 10 days.
The clash puts a border-district trade fair at the centre of Uttarakhand's sharpening rivalry between the Congress and the BJP, and gives the ruling party a law-and-order argument against an opposition MLA. It also shows how invitations and speaking slots at government events have become a flashpoint. The BJP's FIR deadline means the next step depends on whether police register a case.
Named in this story
Sources
- Not allowed to speak from stage in CM's presence, Cong MLA creates ruckus at Pithoragarh fair (PTI via ThePrint)
- Uttarakhand: Congress MLA Harish Dhami Calls CM Pushkar Dhami 'Coward', Hurls Mic At Jauljibi Fair (Free Press Journal)
- Angry over mic being switched off, U'khand Congress MLA throws mic and abuses sound staff (Inshorts)