Dehradun: Accusing Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat of shying away from a CBI probe into the alleged misappropriation of funds meant for the 2013 flood victims, the BJP on Tuesday demanded his resignation on moral grounds, saying he has no right to continue in office even for a single day.
"We have all along been aware of...misappropriation of funds meant for disaster victims in Uttarakhand. Constitutional institutions like the Information Commission has also recently confirmed that there was large-scale misappropriation of relief funds after the 2013 calamity."
"Still, instead of recommending a CBI probe into it, the chief minister and other Congress leaders in the state have been shying away from it," senior BJP leader and in-charge of party affairs in Uttarakhand Shyam Jaju told reporters here.
Noting that a "scam" in spending relief funds has shocked the whole nation, Jaju said BJP's youth wing will gherao the Chief Minister's residence here on June 16, the second anniversary of the disaster, in support of the party's demand for a CBI probe into the "shameless loot of public money" at a time when the state was struggling to come to terms with one of the worst disasters in its history.
"Not ordering a CBI probe into a scam of this nature which reminds us of Bihar's fodder scam is sinful for which the people of the state will never forgive the Congress government," he said.
Asserting that the Rawat government owes an explanation to the people, Jaju said the BJP will not only raise the issue in the state assembly but also build a people's movement on it to corner the state government.
Asked why the BJP government at the Centre is not ordering a CBI probe into it, Jaju said, "We are giving the state government to do its bit on the issue. But if its fails in its responsibility we will do whatever is required in public interest."
In reply to a question, the BJP leader said the Congress' aggressive posturing on the land acquisition bill shows its desperation in the absence of an issue against the Centre.
"They (Congress) could not find even a single issue against the BJP government in the past 12 months. So they are clamouring over the land acquisition bill. However, they are now realising that people are not with them on the issue," the BJP leader said.
