The Congress has demanded investigation into the sting operation against former Chief Minister Harish Rawat while stressing that those found guilty should face legal action. In a letter to Uttarakhand Governor Krishan Kant Paul, the Pradesh Congress Committee President Kishore Upadhyay has also requested that the ‘original CD’ of the sting operation be provided to the party so that the same can be broadcast to the public across Uttarakhand.
Addressing the media at the Congress Bhawan here on Wednesday, the PCC chief said that he had raised various issues and requested measures for their redressal in the letter submitted to the State governor. He said, “As far as I know, this is the first instance in post-independence India wherein a democratically elected Government was brought down and President’s rule was imposed because of a so-called sting operation clip. The BJP-led Union Government headed by prime minister Narendra Modi has violated constitutional ethics by acting without even investigating into the conspiracy behind the sting operation,” he said.
The letter to the Governor further states, “In the role of the police commissioner of Delhi, you are among those police heads under whom the law and order situation of the national capital Delhi remained under control.”
“There was no type of dispute during your term as the police commissioner of Delhi whereas many police commissioners of Delhi had to leave their posting even before the end of their tenure due to some dispute or the other. The Congress has decided that we will ourselves present the sting operation CD before the people of Uttarakhand as the decision of the citizenry is foremost in a democracy. I have received information that the Bharatiya Janata Party and Union Government has handed over the ‘original’ CD of the sting operation to you. Considering this, I request you to make the complete CD available to the Congress,” stated the PCC chief in his communication to the Governor.
Upadhyay also submitted six motions unanimously passed in the PCC office bearers meeting held on May 2 to the Governor for his perusal. He stated, “The financial condition of farmers in the state is in dire straits due to drought conditions. The Government of India decides standards for compensation to drought-affected farmers and the based on it, the financial relief facilitated is too little.”
The PCC chief further requested that required financial assistance be provided to drought-affected farmers in Uttarakhand on a war footing. “In the past, the Uttarakhand State administration had exempted stamp duty for agriculture loans amounting up to Rs five lakh. However, since expiry of the validity period, the administration has not yet issued any order regarding this facility considering which the required order should be ensured in this regard,” he stated.
Upadhyay also elicited the governor’s attention to the decreased availability of water in the Ganga river in Haridwar. Stating that pilgrims and members of the religious fraternity who had communicated with him in Haridwar on May 3 expected him to elicit the Governor’s attention to the decreased water level in the Ganga here hampering various religious rituals.