After Union Minister Harish Rawat demanded an apology from Uttarakhand Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank for allegedly getting his own name included in the list of separate statehood activists, rumors started circulating in the state that the state government has released a list of separate statehood activists.

Quashing such rumors quickly, the Uttarakhand Government denied releasing such a list."No such list of separate statehood activists has been released," chairman of state media advisory committee Devendra Bhasin said in a statement.

Mr. Bhasin was quick to point out that BJP has played a central role in creating a separate Uttarakhand and the leaders from village and central level actively participated in the statehood movement. Hailing the current CM Nishank for his role during the movement, Bhasin said everybody in the state knew about the role Nishank played as a journalist during the movement.

Notably, Union Minister of state for parliamentary affairs Harish Rawat had yesterday criticized Nishank for including his name in the list of statehood activists and asked him to apologize to the people stating that he not only hurt people sentiments but also violated the dignity of the office he holds.

----