The MlAs who defected from the Congress to BJP will not affect the political standing of the Congress in Uttarakhand. However, the BJP should explain why former chief minister Vijay Bahuguna, former cabinet ministers Harak Singh Rawat and Amrita Rawat - who were in the past accused of major corruption by the BJP -were made members of the BJP. The Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee president Kishore Upadhyay said this here on Thursday.
Addressing the media at the Congress Bhawan, the PCC chief said that in the past from 2002 to 2007 and later from 2012 to the present, the BJP in Uttarakhand had leveled serious allegations of corruption at former CM Vijay Bahuguna, former cabinet ministers Harak Singh Rawat and Amrita Rawat. Citing these alleged instances of corruption the BJP had gone to the extent of stalling proceedings in the Vidhan Sabha. Upadhyay said, “The BJP had leveled serious allegations at the then chief minister Vijay Bahuguna following the 2013 disaster. Apart from this, from 2007 to 2012 and even later, they had also accused the then cabinet minister Harak Singh Rawat of alleged corruption. Having accused the three of serious corruption in the past, the BJP itself has now embraced them,” he said, while adding that he would request the government to initiate an inquiry of the various allegations levelled by the BJP against the defectors.
Regarding the impact of the three joining BJP as members, the PCC chief said that the trio had disappointed the people of Uttarakhand who would give them a befitting lesson in the 2017 Vidhan Sabha elections. He further said that the manner in which the BJP had made the three turncoats members of the party during the night time had put a question mark on this development. Upadhyay further said, “It appears as if the BJP has lost its respect for former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee who had worked towards strengthening the anti-defection law. In the past former chief minister Bhuwan Chandra Khanduri broke TPS Rawat away from the Congress to bring him into the folds of the BJP and now prime minister Narendra Modi and BJP national president Amit Shah are now playing the same political game,”the PCC chief said. The three rebels joining the BJP will make no difference to the Congress in the Vidhan Sabha elections to be held in 2017. Far from damaging the position of the Congress, this development will benefit the Congress while also providing an opportunity for the younger leadership to emerge and grow, opined Upadhyay. Regarding the sting operation incidents, the PCC chief said that he had requested the State Governor to provide the CDs of both the sting operations. After the receipt of the sought CDs, they will be screened for the public in the State capital and other locations across Uttarakhand.