BJP stings U’khand govt over scams, Congress hits back

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday accused the Congress-led state government of being embroiled in scams worth crores of rupees in its excise and mining departments and posed questions to it, saying if the party did not get satisfactory answers it would be forced to move court.

Hitting out at the Congress for asking the BJP to produce the original CD of the sting operation exposing corruption in the excise department and involvement of senior officials in it, senior BJP leader Prakash Pant asked why the state government did not send a copy of the sting CD available with Governor KK Paul for forensic test.

Pant also asked why the government did not interrogate the person shown in the CD having a conversation purportedly with Chief Minister Harish Rawat’s former secretary and IAS officer Md Shahid, besides asking it to explain the reasons behind demolition of a portion of a structure owned by the man who claims to have made the CD. Pant also wanted to know why no action was initiated against Shahid, when prima facie he was found guilty in the sting CD episode.

Meanwhile, the Congress, too, launched a counter-attack on the BJP. Surendra Kumar, media-in-charge to Chief Minister Harish Rawat, raised several issues during the precedent government. 

He said, “In <g data-gr-id="30">2007-08,</g> when the BJP was in power in <g data-gr-id="28">state</g>, it transferred all power of liquor control from <g data-gr-id="29">government</g> agency to liquor baron Ponty Chaddha and his associates. Also, is it not true that BJP accepted money from liquor and sand mafia during elections. The BJP government issued FL-5 licence to the liquor <g data-gr-id="27">baro</g>n, who does not have a single factory in Uttarakhand.”

He added, “Chief Minister Harish Rawat’s decisions and actions on various public welfare schemes have pushed the BJP in doldrums. In order to divert public attention from reality, BJP leaders are giving baseless statements.”