A day after the Supreme Court stayed the High Court order to reinstate him as the Chief Minister on Friday, Harish Rawat said on Saturday he would resume his padyatra (foot march) against President’s Rule from Daksh temple to Har Ki Pauri on Monday to enlighten the people against the ills of defection. He also asked the Governor to conduct a thorough probe through either CBI or SIT into the Onida factory fire incident that charred to death 12 people in 2012.
Observers are, however, piqued with Rawat raising the matter with vigour now after maintaining a stony silence over it during his tenure as the CM. “However, his determination to stop defection is understandable in view of the High Court’s double bench dubbing it as a constitutional sin,” said one of the observers.
“Recently, some people from Haridwar approached me and demanded thorough probe into the case. They alleged that the case has been referred to CBCID to protect the factory owner and the management of the company concerned. An inspector of Tehri district was given charge to probe it. The motive was clear. A police officer from outside the district was brought in to probe the matter to let those responsible for the fire off the hook of law. As per the fresh evidence, the factory owner and the management have been found guilty. Now, it is high time that the things should be probed by either SSP or through CBI to fix the responsibility of the fire,” Rawat said.
However, Rawat’s public-spiritedness championing the cause of those who lost their near and dear ones in the ghastly fire is being taken with a pinch of salt by those who claim to know things. It is being suspected that the case was scrutinised by those deemed confidantes of Harish Rawat at the behest of the ex-CM to have his arch rival Vijay Bahuguna pinned. Notably, Bahuguna was the CM when the fire killed so many people.
Besides, the focus is also on IPS Kewal Khurana who was the SSP during the time the fire incident occurred. With the present DGP BS Sidhu and Khurana remaining at daggers drawn, Sidhu with full connivance with Rawat has an FIR filed against Khurana and has him shunted in March from Udham Sigh Nagar where he was the SSP, using the 2012 case to the hilt. Khurana was accused of suppressing facts to shield the factory owner and the management.