BJP allegations to deflect attention from scams involving its top leaders

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat speaks to media in Dehradun.

She also released a sting operation video and said: “We have video proof which shows involvement of the Uttarakhand CM and his powerful close confidante in the scam”.

It’s now scam versus scam in national politics.

Since the parliament session began yesterday, the BJP government was facing strong opposition from Congress and other parties, demanding the resignation of Foreign Minister Sushma Swaraj and Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhra Raje for favoring Lalit Modi, who is facing probe in IPL related scams. “The policy has just been decided… how can it be changed already?” said Mr Rawat to NDTV; but within an hour, his aide, Mohd Shahid, had been suspended; an inquiry against him will be completed within 60 days, said the Congress.

BJP leaders Kiren Rijiju and spokesperson Sambit Patra in another press conference at the party’s head office in New Delhi on Wednesday said that Congress leader Thungon had been convicted in a corruption case. “But when you talk of the Congress in State after State, there are skeletons abound, waiting to tumble out of their closet”. There is a well established lottery system for liquor license distributions.

Rawat has, in the meantime, rubbished the allegations and said the authenticity of the audio tape is yet to be ascertained.

Seeking to drag the Congress top brass into the mud, the BJP accused party CMs from Kerala to Assam, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand of having become “merchants of loot” and giving commission to the Gandhis. A senior IAS officer of the Gujarat cadre, Shahid has had a long association with Harish Rawat ever since the latter was Union minister for water resources in the previous UPA-2 government. An FIR against Shahid has also been filed.

“Instead of focusing on providing relief to Uttarakhand for which he was sent, replacing Vijay Bahuguna, Rawat is focusing on making money by tweaking the liquor policy”. We got it transferred into the hands of the government.

“Private agencies chosen by Chief Minister Rawat and Shahid were brought on board and passed liquor to retail agencies”, Sitharaman said.