Gangtok: While the parents of Ankita Bhandari were detained by the police during an overnight protest at India Gate against the appointment of senior BJP leader Dushyant Kumar Gautam as Sikkim Governor, the Sikkim Pradesh Congress Committee (SPCC) staged a dharna in Gangtok and demanded that the Union government withdraw the appointment until the ongoing CBI investigation into the alleged VIP angle in the murder case is completed.
The Congress has urged that he not assume office until the CBI inquiry is completed, saying the appointment should be reconsidered to protect public confidence in constitutional institutions. The President’s Secretariat announced Gautam’s appointment on October 12 as part of a wider gubernatorial reshuffle.
“The question that has been raised is: who was the VIP? Ankita’s family has been demanding answers, and the name of Dushyant Kumar Gautam, who was then the BJP’s in-charge for Uttarakhand, has surfaced in the controversy. “A Governor holds a very important constitutional position and is responsible for upholding the Constitution in a state. This is not an ordinary post.
Her father said the government must cancel the appointment within 24 hours.
“If it is not revoked, the people across the entire country will take to the streets, and the government will be held responsible,” he said. The CBI investigation has been recommended, but the family’s concerns remain,” SPCC president Gopal Chettri said. How could the BJP government recommend someone whose name has surfaced in such a serious controversy for this constitutional office?” he said.
