Alleging that Uttarakhand Agriculture Minister Harak Singh Rawat was holding "three offices of profit", BJP today threatened to approach court if he does not resign or is expelled from the state Assembly.
"By saying that the TDC and Uttarakhand Poorva Sainik Kalyan Nigam Ltd (UPNL) are going to be dropped from the list of offices of profit with retrospective effect through an ordinance, the Chief Minister has indirectly admitted that Rawat occupies an office of profit as the corporation's chairman," Leader of Opposition in Uttarakhand Assembly Ajay Bhatt told reporters here.
Terming it as the vindication of the stand taken by BJP which has been demanding disqualification of Rawat as an MLA as he occupied not one but three offices of profit, Bhatt said "he should either quit and save his face or be ousted from the House".
"Now it is a fact that he has been occupying offices of profit despite being a minister and an MLA, so he should either quit by himself or be asked to resign from Assembly," Bhatt said.
Bhatt, who had recently approached Uttarakhand Governor Aziz Qureshi as part of a party delegation demanding Rawat's resignation, said if his ouster from state Assembly did not take place the party will go to court over the issue as it was a violation of Constitutional norms.
In the wake of opposition furore over Rawat occupying offices of profit, Bahuguna has sent the draft of an ordinance to the Governor dropping the post of chairperson of TDC, UPNL, Seed Certification Agency and two other corporations from the ambit of offices of profit.
Questioning the justification of such an ordinance, Bhatt said the circumstances did not call for it.
Citing Constitutional provisions in this regard, Bhatt said ordinances are brought only in case of extraordinary circumstances and not to help a minister continue in office.
"There is no escape route for the state government now. Rawat will have to resign or face expulsion from the House failing to which we will not hesitate from going to court," the BJP leader said.
