Just two days ahead of the floor test, Congress in Uttarakhand courted more trouble on Saturday, with the rebel party MLAs releasing a sting video purportedly showing chief minister Harish Rawat offering them huge money and ministerial berths to buy their support.
While Rawat termed the video "fake", his party alleged that "dirty tricks department" of BJP president Amit Shah is at work. The BJP, however, urged governor Krishna Kant Paul – who had asked Rawat to prove majority in Assembly on Monday – to immediately dismiss the government.
The sting video was released by son of former CM Vijay Bahuguna, Saket Bahuguna, who appeared along with rebel Congress MLAs Harak Singh Rawat and Subodh Uniyal, who were in an undisclosed location for over a week. In the CD, the CM was seen offering Rs 5 crore to each legislator, besides ministerial berth for two. Rawat was shown telling the interviewer to pay on his behalf and that he will be compensated later.
The chief minister, who denied that he was trying to buy support of rebel party MLAs and that of BJP, has sought a probe into authenticity of the CD, produced by a “shady journalist” Umesh. The BJP, however, said its leaders would meet the President to demand immediate dismissal of the government. “After the release of the sting video, Rawat has no moral right to remain as chief minister even for a minute,” said its national general secretary, Kailash Vijayvargiya.
Refuting the Congress charge of horse-trading, he said the BJP has no role in whatever is happening. "It's their internal matter. Even these MLAs are not with us. The Congress is accusing us to hide its own weaknesses," Vijayvargiya said.
At a news briefing, Uttarakhand Congress president Kishore Upadhyay said Vijayvargiya can't deny the BJP hand in trying to pull down the government as he was very much in the Assembly with party vice-president Shyam Jaju on the day budget was to be passed and could be seen sending slips to Vijay Bahuguna and others to instigate them to vote out the budget.
He said the conspiracy, hatched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP chief Amit Shah, was exposed when both the Governor and the High Court refused to oblige them. Asserting that the Congress will re-establish its majority on Monday, Upadhyay claimed he was in touch with six of the nine rebel MLAs but refused to divulge names. Stating that the rebels could still be “taken back on merit”, he singled out Vijay Bahuguna and Harak Singh Rawat for “backstabbing” the party.
