Haridwar MP and former Chief Minister Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank said he would drag Chief Minister Harish Rawat and State Congress president Kishore Updhayay to court unless they apologize for referring to Kumbh scam, Citurgia scam and hydro-power scam. He said the chapter related to these alleged scams had been closed following their dismissal by the court. However, with the BJP leader having given no deadline, the matter is still creating heat in the political circles.
Dr Nishank said Congress and its State Government keep mentioning these alleged scams to underplay the emotive 2013 disaster relief scam. “This happened when the BJP youth wing had staged a rally in Dehradun earlier this week, demanding CBI probe into the RTI-propelled scam. Scared of the issue snowballing into a major one, the ruling party went for a counter-agitation. There the party leaders sought to project the three alleged scams as a counter-weight to the disaster relief scam. This is despite the fact that the court had exonerated me of all the charges related to them. Harish Rawat and Kisohore Upadhyay must seek apology or else I would challenge them in court,” he said.
He said he had been surprised over the Chief Minister stooping that low. “CM himself said BJP should demand CBI probe into Kumbha scam too that happened during BJP regime. This is unbecoming of the CM. He is a seasoned politician too. They must come up with fresh documents in support of their allegations if they have any instead of going for such insinuations,” the former CM said.
Talking about the CAG report which was tabled in the Vidhan Sabha in 2011 and which later was referred to Parliamentary Account Committee chaired by then MlA Pritam Singh, he asked the State Government to clear things about the status of the report. “If they have not submitted the report it amounts to a humiliation for the Assembly. If they have submitted it why is the state government sitting on itIJ” he asked.
As far as Kumbha-2010 is concerned it was the first such Mela in the world where millions of people took dip, he said. “However, instead of acknowledging the achievement, they are out to malign me,” he said, adding that they are welcome to probe things if they have evidences. “But they are interested in mud-slinging campaign to defame me and my party,” he said.
“However, I have foolproof documents to show how illegal mining has been flourishing in the State with the connivance of the State Government. let them challenge me and I would prove my point with evidences,” he added.Training his gun again on the CM on the issue of skeletal remains remaining buried in and around Kedarnath shrine, he said bodies buried in the heap of rubble are clearly visible.