Former Uttarakhand chief minister Ramesh Pokhariyal Nishank today demanded immediate disqualification of Cabinet Minister Harak Singh Rawat as a member of the state Assembly, accusing him of heading three offices of profit in violation of the Constitution.
"Rawat has violated the Constitution by occupying not just one but three offices of profit despite being an MLA and a minister in Bahuguna cabinet. Therefore, the Governor should terminate his membership of the state Assembly with immediate effect," Nishank told reporters here.
Terming Rawat's appointment as the chairman of Uttarakhand Seed and Tarai development Corporation, Uttarakhand Poorva Sainik Kalyan Nigam Ltd and Uttarakhand Seed Certification Agency as violation of Articles 102 (1) and 191 (1) of the Constitution, Nishank demanded his immediate disqualification as a MLA.
Rejecting the state government's claim that the posts occupied by Rawat don't fall into the category of offices of profit, the senior BJP leader said the institutions headed by Rawat do not figure in the notifications dropping 56 posts from the list of offices of profit.
A war of words broke out between Rawat and Nishank when the Bhati Commission's report on an alleged scam in the Uttarakhand Seed and Tarai Development Corporation during the previous BJP government was tabled in the state Assembly recently.
The Bhati Commission is probing over half a dozen alleged scams during the previous BJP government in Uttarakhand.
