New Delhi: The CBI today summoned ousted Uttarakhand CM Harish Rawat to Delhi for questioning on May 9 in connection with the sting CD that showed him offering bribes to rebel Congress leaders to vote for his government in a floor test in March.
The sting, made by the editor-in-chief of a private news channel and circulated by the 9 Congress rebels, shows Rawat negotiating a price with the journalist to buy the support of MLAs.
Last month, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had sent the sting CD to the Chandigarh forensics laboratory for examining the authenticity of the CD. The Central Forensic Science Laboratory, in its report submitted to the government, said that the sting operation CD released by rebel Congress leaders against Rawat was genuine.
The former CM had earlier rejected the allegations, but later accepted his presence in the video. He, however, had maintained that all charges against him were politically motivated and baseless.
The political crisis in Uttarakhand started on March 18 when 9 Congress MLAs, along with 27 BJP legislators, met Governor KK Paul at the Raj Bhavan in Dehradun, and sought the dismissal of the Harish Rawat government. Rawat had, however, maintained that he enjoyed a majority in the 71-seat Uttarakhand Assembly. Following this, Paul gave Rawat a deadline of March 28 to prove his majority in Assembly but the BJP-led NDA government at the Centre imposed President’s Rule in the state saying the Assembly failed to pass the Budget.
