A day after former Cabinet Minister and senior party leader Yashpal Arya became a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party, chief minister Harish Rawat questioned the stand of the BJP stating that the very Congress Ministers and leaders consistently accused of major corruption by the BJP have now become a part of the BJP. He further said that in the past the BJP had spoken against awarding tickets to multiple members of the same family but has ended up doing the exact opposite of what it had claimed at the time. Rawat said this while addressing the media along with the Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee president Kishore Upadhyay at the Congress Bhawan here on Tuesday.
Speaking at the Press conference, Rawat took a dig at the BJP stating that with those who were frequently accused of serious corruption by the BJP joining the very party, the Congress has now become cleaner. The alleged corruption and scams raised repeatedly by the BJP MlAs were largely purported to be in the departments of the very leaders who are now in the BJP. He also lambasted the BJP stating that the party which was emphasising some days ago that it would not encourage ‘family culture’ in politics is now acting in the opposite manner as is evident in the list of its candidates with family members being adjusted in it. Referring to the BJP protest during Vidhan Sabha session in the past, the chief minister recalled that the BJP had “disrupted the Vidhan Sabha session for about 12 days on the issue of alleged corruption in disaster relief works”. “However, the very individual they had then targeted for the alleged disaster scam is now a ‘think tank’ in the BJP,” said Rawat while referring to ex chief minister and one of the Congress dissidents now in the BJP, Vijay Bahuguna. He emphasised his point recalling slogans like “Jab Se Aye Bahuguna, Bhrashtachar Bada Sauguna (Bahuguna’s arrival brought hundred-folds increase in corruption), which used to be raised by the BJP leaders and workers during his (Bahuguna's) tenure as the chief minister of Uttarakhand under the Congress-led state government. The chief minister also referred to the various alleged scams raised by the BJP in the past including subsidy in poly-house, quarrying and land scams purportedly orchestrated by the then Congress ministers and leaders who have now become members of the BJP. The BJP should given an answer the public on the issues emerging after the recent political developments, he added. Rawat also stated that he greets the BJP for allotting party ticket to the Congress turncoats.
In reply to a query regarding the stance of the Congress in case of BJP leaders unhappy with their party’s first list of candidates, he said that induction of members into the Congress party will be on the basis of merit. He also elicited the support of the public and appealed that the Congress be elected with a clear mandate.
Speaking at the Press conference, the PCC chief Kishore Upadhyay averred that the party stands on a strong foundation with the party workers being committed to work for whoever is declared the official party candidate. Referring to Yashpal Arya, the PCC chief averred that the Congress had given much to Arya. Despite this, he left the Congress and joined the BJP keeping the political interests of his son in mined, opined Upadhyay.