While celebrating the party’s success in the Supreme Court-ordered floor test in the Vidhan Sabha, the Congress has alleged that even on the day of the floor test, the turncoat MlAs made last-ditch attempts to entice Congress MlAs in the Vidhan Sabha into defecting from the party - even offering the post of Chief Minister to lure them into switching side.
leveling this allegation, the Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee president Kishore Upadhyay referred to talk of about `700 crore having been spent purportedly by the Bharatiya Janata Party on the recent political machinations to bring down the democratically elected Congress-led State Government.
The entire episode of political disruption lasting about two months should be investigated by a two-member judicial committee, he demanded.
Addressing media persons at the Congress Bhawan soon after information was received about the Supreme Court decision resulting in reinstatement of the State Government, the PCC chief expressed gratitude to the Indian judicial system, Congress leadership and MlAs along with Bahujan Samaj Party and coalition partner Progressive Democratic Front for supporting the Congress in the floor test. He said, “Our loyal MlAs maintained their stance with the party even in the face of major enticements offered by the opposition. Even on the day of floor test in the Assembly, attempts were made from the side of the turncoats to three of our leaders in the Vidhan Sabha. The BJP was craving for power to such an extent that even the post of chief minister was offered to our leaders in return for their defection from the Congress,” he said. When asked to name the three party leaders who had purportedly received such offers, Upadhyay said that the MlAs in question may themselves make this and other revelations in the coming days. Accusing the BJP leadership of orchestrating the purported ploy against the Congress-led State Government, the PCC chief demanded that the entire episode lasting about two months should be investigated by a two-member judicial committee.
He said, “Earlier, during the initial period of political machinations in Uttarakhand, Congress president Sonia Gandhi had called me up to state that she along with party vice president Rahul Gandhi wanted to visit Uttarakhand in our support.