Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat has called “false and absolutely fake” the video that appeared to show him offering money in return for the support of some MLAs who had rebelled against him last week. “The MLAs are being called rebel Congress MLAs, but in my view they are no more Congress MLAs,” he told journalists here on Saturday.
He said the journalist behind the sting was “known among officials and Ministers for blackmailing them. The reputation of the journalist is not hidden from anyone.”
The Congress’s central leadership has come out in support of the Chief Minister. AICC general secretary in charge of the media Randeep Singh Surjewala said: “After unsuccessfully deploying money power and having faced disappointment from the High Court yesterday [Friday], the BJP has come out with this so-called sting operation. It doesn’t matter; the truth will still win.”
Rawat must resign: BJPMeanwhile, Uttarakhand BJP president Ajay Bhatt, who is camping here with 26 other BJP MLAs, has said Mr. Rawat’s “fascist rule” has led to political instability in the State.
“Imagine being an MLA of the Chief Minister’s party and unable to speak to him without approval from some middlemen. It is stifling,” he said on Saturday.
