The reluctance of the Congress-led State Government to recommend a CBI probe into the alleged scam in the 2013 disaster relief works was only reaffirmed by the Pradesh Congress Committee president Kishore Upadhyay who recently said that a CBI probe would not be recommended by the Government even if god himself suggested so.
The BJP and Uttarakhand Kranti Dal apart from CPI have planned to corner the State Government with protests on this issue. Political observers pointed out that demand for CBI probe of the alleged scam in disaster relief appeared to have put the Congress on the defensive in Uttarakhand even while its leaders counter the BJP’s demand for CBI probe by pointing at alleged scams under the BJP Government in the State.
On Thursday while addressing mediapersons in Nainital, the PCC chief said the Government would not recommend a CBI inquiry into the alleged disaster relief scam even if “god himself says so”. Recently, Haridwar MP and former Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ had visited Kedarnath and accused the Government of not doing enough the restoration work with dead bodies still buried under debris since 2013.
Responding to this, Rajya Sabha MP of the Congress, Raj Babbar has said Pokhriyal should indulge in developmental politics instead of politicising disaster. In a statement released by the PCC, Babbar stated, “Nishank is an elected public representative and if he raises the voice of Uttarakhand in the lok Sabha seeking development or confronts the Centre for facilitating development in the State, I am ready to follow him in this fight.”
The BJP has planned to gherao the State Government on the alleged scam while even the Uttarakhand Kranti Dal has decided to undertake a Statewide agitation against corruption in the State while also demanding a CBI probe into the alleged disaster relief scam. Congress president Sonia Gandhi is expected to visit Uttarakhand in the near future to inaugurate a cultural programme being organised by the State Government. It remains to be seen whether the party chief ignores this issue or gives a reply to the consistent demand for CBI inquiry into the alleged disaster relief scam.