Congress today rejected as "completely fake" a sting video purportedly showing Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat offering bribe to rebel MLAs, alleging the "dirty tricks department of BJP chief Amit Shah" was behind the job.
At the AICC briefing, state Congress chief Kishore Upadhyay launched a scathing attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP president accusing them of hatching a conspiracy to destabilise the state government which, he claimed, "enjoys majority".
"It is all the job of the externed Amit Shah and his dirty tricks department," he said, alleging that after destabilising Arunachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand has come on the radar of the ruling party at the Centre.
He claimed the Congress rebels and BJP were behind the "conspiracy of the fake CD" after they failed to get any relief from either the court or the Governor ahead of the crucial trust vote on Monday.
Upadhyay also claimed he was in touch with six of the nine rebel MLAs but refused to divulge the names.
Asked whether the Congress is ready to "forgive and forget" if the rebels express willingness to return, he said, "In a family, if someone parts ways by resorting to some wrong steps, he could be taken back on merit."
Hitting out at former Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna and former CLP leader Harak Singh Rawat, he said they have "back-stabbed the party which has given them everything".
He said the two leaders instead of defending the Congress and its government with all their might, are seeking to create trouble.
In a statement, AICC's chief spokesman Randeep Surjewala said, "Congress will not be cowed down by such tactics, conspiracies and threats. Even today, the Uttarakhand government enjoys majority. We will abide by constitutional directions and will prove our majority on the floor of the House.
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Uttarakhand Congress chief Upadhyay said the party "fully stands by" the Chief Minister, describing the sting video against him as part of a "conspiracy" hatched by Modi and Shah to "malign" the non-BJP government in the state.
"The Chief Minister has clarified his position on the sting CD and the party fully stands by him. It is a result of the plot hatched by Narendra Modi and Amit Shah for dislodging non-BJP governments everywhere. This will cost the BJP dearly not just in the politics of Uttarakhand but throughout the country," he said in a statement in Dehradun.
When told that BJP has demanded the CM's resignation in the wake of the sting operation, Upadhyay said sometime ago a sting operation had been done by a woman architect in Gujarat for which BJP should demand the resignation of their "illustrious Prime Minister" who was Gujarat Chief Minister at that time and Shah who was his Home Minister.
