The deposed Uttarakhand Chief Minister, Harish Rawat, has been summoned by the Central Bureau of Investigation for questioning on Monday in connection with an alleged sting operation showing him offering a deal to dissident Congress MLAs through middlemen.
According to the agency, the video tapes in question have been proven to be authentic.
Preliminary inquiry
Based on a reference from the State government and further orders from the Centre, on April 25, the CBI initiated a preliminary inquiry to determine the authenticity of the “sting operation” by Umesh Kumar, the chief executive officer and editor-in-chief of the Noida-based TV channel Samachar Plus.
Journalist questioned
“We have already questioned the journalist, who submitted the raw video tapes of the operation. They have been found to be authentic,” a CBI official said. The journalist had earlier claimed that he did the sting in the “national interest.”
The CBI also questioned an Uttarakhand MLA. “He claimed that when the Finance Bill was being discussed in the Assembly, Mr. Rawat had called him to his office and offered him Rs. 2.5 crore in cash and an important position in the government. Another State Minister allegedly offered the MLA about Rs. 10 crore.
“In view of these claims and the authenticity of the video tapes, we need to question Mr. Rawat to ascertain the facts,” the official said.
However, Mr. Rawat raised doubts over the date chosen by the CBI for questioning him. He said the summons reeked of the Central government’s intentions to “tamper with the soon-to-be-expected floor test.” The CBI was being used [by the Centre] for this purpose, he charged.
The rebel Congress MLAs had earlier accused the Chief Minister of offering bribes in a bid to win them back and released the sting operation on March 26. Mr. Rawat refuted the allegations terming the operation fake and demanded a probe into the antecedents of those behind it.
A day later, hours before he was to face the vote of confidence in the Assembly, President’s Rule was imposed in Uttarakhand dislodging the State government led by him.
Next hearing
The matter reached the Uttarakhand High Court that struck down President’s Rule, after which the Centre moved the Supreme Court challenging the order. The apex court stayed the High Court decision and the issue is pending since. The case is scheduled for the next hearing on Friday.
Mr. Rawat has asked the CBI to question him after the floor test. “The Supreme Court has asked the Centre to reply to its suggestion for a floor test by May 6. For the sake of impartiality I would request the CBI to first let the floor test happen [and then question me].”
