In the case of Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat being summoned by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) as part of the investigation into the sting operation, the other persons named in the clip including former Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna and former State cabinet Minister Harak Singh Rawat should also be summoned by the CBI as part of the probe.
Additionally, the reports of all the inquiry commissions and committees since creation of Uttarakhand State should be made public after following the due legal procedure.The Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee president Kishore Upadhyay said this while addressing the media here on Sunday.
Speaking at a Press conference in Congress Bhawan, Upadhyay expressed mistrust in the CBI and questioned whether the bureau had separate standards for the BJP and Congress. Referring to chief minister Harish Rawat being summoned for questioning by the CBI, the PCC chief said that all the persons whose names are mentioned in the sting operation clip should have been summoned by the CBI for questioning.
Stating that some of those mentioned in the sting clip-Vijay Bahuguna, Harak Singh Rawat and other turncoat MlAs-were holding public office during the period in question, he questioned the Centre on whether this factor is also being considered in the investigation.
The PCC had sought the sting operation CD from the authorities and had planned to screen the complete clip for public in Uttarakhand but the CD is yet to be provided, he said, while reiterating that Rs 700 crore had been allegedly spent by the BJP on ‘operation Uttarakhand’ to bring down the elected State Government.
Apart from the probe demanded by the PCC for verifying the actual status of all government lands allocated since 1990 to various organisations for different purposes, the reports of all the inquiry committees since creation of Uttarakhand in 2000 till date, should be released in the public domain following necessary legal procedure.
All cases of alleged corruption in Uttarakhand should be investigated and the findings reported in a time-bound manner. Regarding the altercation in Chakrata resulting in injury to BJP’s Rajya Sabha MP Tarun Vijay, Upadhyay said that the Congress is against discrimination and casteism. However, he also questioned why the issue of discrimination against Dalits was not raised during the term of BJP-led State Government from 2007 to 2012.