State Congress chief Kishore Upadhyay has alleged that the Bhartiya Janata Party has so far made four attempts to bring down the Congress-led State Government in Uttarakhand.
Without specifying the “attempts” of ousting the State Government, he added that the functioning of the Central Bureau of Investigation was not transparent and that impartiality of the Bureau was also questionable.
Recommendation of a CBI inquiry into the alleged scam in 2013 disaster relief would be questionable considering these factors. However, the Congress would ensure that anyone found guilty of corruption faced action, he added.
Addressing the media here on Thursday, the PCC chief said the information revealed through RTI Act and being used by BJP to allege scam in disaster relief, would have been better had it contained pinpointed data.
“The PCC does not intend to shield any person who is guilty of corruption and we will not allow corruption to be whitewashed. However, the Opposition is trying to project as if a CBI inquiry is necessary as if it is the best means for establishing the truth. Though we do not mind a CBI inquiry, it should be remembered that those who are demanding a CBI probe now had themselves refused a probe by the Bureau into alleged scams when the BJP was heading the State Government,” he added.
“There were irregularities in the disaster relief efforts after the 2010 disaster with no record of how the donations for relief and other funds were spent. I have already written to the Chief Minister seeking to know what action has been taken on funds and actions announced by various organisations and corporate houses after the 2013 disaster. I will now write to the Prime Minister seeking information about how the funds donated to the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund for this disaster were used,” he said.
Referring to the commemoration of the International Day of Yoga on June 21, Upadhyay said the enthusiasm of the Prime Minister for Yoga was appreciable. “However, we believe that instead of simply practicing Yoga to mark an occasion, we also need to link it to employment. Uttarakhand being the land of Yoga and penance, the Centre should fund the appointment of two trained Yoga teachers in each Government and public school in the State. This would be more effective towards popularising Yoga than publicising it with Baba Ramdev who has 84 cases against him,” said Upadhyay.
The PCC vice president Jot Singh Bisht, Rajendra Shah and Prithviraj Chauhan among others were present at the Press conference.