Citing the raging disaster relief fund scam, State BJP in-charge Shyam Jaju who was here to attend State BJP core committee meeting demanded on Tuesday that the Harish Rawat Government should quit immediately with the Chief Minister having lost moral ground to continue.
He alleged the fund generously sent by the Centre as well as the common people from across the country for the calamity-affected people have been embezzled with the full connivance of the State Government. “The scam amounts to a vicious slur on the fair face of Deobhoomi. People have now grown suspicious of everything happening in Uttarakhand. Nothing can be a greater anathema for the people here who pride themselves on belonging to a special State deemed nationally as the abode of gods,” the BJP leader said.
Jaju further alleged that it is inherent in the Congress to promote corruption wherever they are in power. “Uttarakhand is standing witness to plethora of scams in tune with the ruling party’s intrinsic character. Our party’s general secretary and former Cabinet Minister Prakash Pant has already filed a writ before the high court and he would see the end of it,” Jaju said.
“We have all along been aware of the huge misappropriation of funds meant for the disaster victims in Uttarakhand. Constitutional institutions like the Information Commission have recently confirmed that that a large-scale misappropriation of relief funds involving the 2013 calamity has taken place.”
Still, instead of recommending a CBI probe into it, the CM and other State Congress leaders have been shying away from it, he said, adding that BJP’s youth wing would gherao the Chief Minister’s residence on June 16 — the second anniversary of the disaster, in support of the party’s demand for a CBI probe into the “shameless loot of public money” at a time when the State was struggling to come to terms with one of the worst disasters in its history.
“State Government not facilitating a CBI probe into a scam has reminded us of Bihar’s fodder scam. The people of the State will never forgive the Congress Government,” he said. “It sounds strange that not even a single Congress leader or Government spokesperson has come forward to assure that the scam would be rightly probed,” the BJP leader said.
Asserting that the Rawat Government owes an explanation to the people, Jaju said the BJP will not only raise the issue in the State Assembly but would embark on a people’s movement to expose the state Government.
Asked why the BJP Government at the Centre is not ordering a CBI probe on its own, Jaju said, “We are giving the State Government to do its bit on the issue. But if they fail to rise to the occasion we will do whatever is required in public interest.”
In reply to a question, the BJP leader said the Congress’ aggressive posturing on the land acquisition bill shows its desperation as it has no issue to criticise the Centre.
“They (Congress) could not find even a single issue against the BJP government in the past 12 months. So they are clamouring over the land acquisition bill. However, they are now realising that people are not with them on the issue,” the BJP leader said.