Centre using CBI to cow-down political opponents: CM's Media

Uttarakhand Chief Minister's Media Advisor Surendra Kumar today accused the Centre of "using CBI to cow-down political opponents", after the probe agency again asked Harish Rawat to appear before it on Monday regarding an investigation into a purported sting operation involving him.
The CBI has asked Rawat to appear before it in connection with a video allegedly showing him negotiating to "buy disgruntled" party MLAs to save his government during the political crisis in March.
This is the second time that Rawat has been summoned by the CBI on a Preliminary Enquiry (PE) registered by it in last seven months. He had earlier appeared before the agency on May 24 during which he was questioned for nearly five hours.

Questioning the timing of the summons that comes with the Uttarakhand Assembly polls round the corner, he alleged, "The CBI summons are as conspiratorial as toppling the Rawat government earlier this year."
Terming it a "premeditated conspiracy against the state government", Kumar claimed, "We knew that the probe agency will be used by BJPagainst its opponents at the time ofelections for petty political gains."
"Going by the timing of the summons, it seems the BJP intends to contest the coming state Assembly elections by using the probe agency that has been reduced to an instrument by theCentre to settle political scores," he alleged.

It reflects the sense of frustration in the BJP over its impendingelectoral defeat, Kumar claimed.