BJP using ED to escape electoral defeat in Uttarakhand: Cong's Selja

Congress's Kumari Selja accused the BJP of deploying the ED to escape electoral defeat in Uttarakhand and divert attention from issues like unemployment, following a raid on ex-CM Harish Rawat's aide. She said Rawat himself initiated the probe.

Congress leader and AICC Uttarakhand in-charge Kumari Selja on Saturday accused the BJP of using the Enforcement Directorate (ED) to divert attention from issues concerning Uttarakhand and evade an impending electoral defeat.

Reacting to the ED's raid at the premises of Chandan Singh Jeena, who served as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to former Chief Minister Harish Rawat, Selja said that former Chief Minister Harish Rawat had initiated the investigation into the case related to the allegations and expanded the scope of the probe while he was in office. She alleged that the BJP had remained inactive on the matter for nearly a decade and was now using the ED for electoral purposes.

In a post on X, she said, “Seeing its impending defeat, the BJP has now deployed the ED into the fray in Uttarakhand as well. In reality, when Shri @harishrawatcmuk ji was the Chief Minister, it was he who initiated the investigation into the case related to the allegations, expanded the scope of the probe, and advanced the process of action. But the BJP, which has been asleep for the past 10 years, has now brought in the ED to escape electoral defeat.”

Selja further accused the BJP government of attempting to divert attention from issues of paper leaks, unemployment and recruitment corruption raised by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi through ‘Echo of Students’. “In fact, when Shri @RahulGandhi ji raised the issues of paper leaks, unemployment, and recruitment corruption among Uttarakhand's youth through ‘Echo of Students,’ the BJP government is now trying to evade it via the ED. But the people of the state know on whose bidding the ED becomes active. Uttarakhand has now understood such electoral tactics and will not fall for these deceptions,” she said.

The Congress leader said the people of Uttarakhand would reject the BJP in the upcoming elections, alleging that the state government was corrupt and anti-people. “In these elections, the people of Uttarakhand will uproot and throw out the BJP's corrupt and anti-people government from power,” she added.

ED Details Searches in UKSSSC Exam Scam Case

ED on Friday said it conducted searches at multiple locations in Dehradun in connection with alleged large-scale irregularities in the Uttarakhand Subordinate Service Selection Commission (UKSSSC) Gram Panchayat Vikas Adhikari (VPDO) Examination, 2016, and recovered Rs 32 lakh in unaccounted cash, gold and luxury watches from the residence of Chandan Singh Jeena, presently serving as Personal Assistant to former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Singh Rawat.

The searches were carried out on September 10 under the provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA), 2002, the ED said in a press release issued on Friday.

According to the agency, searches were conducted at the residential premises of the then Chairman and Secretary of UKSSSC, the then Exam Controller, the owner of the private computer agency engaged for OMR processing, and associated middlemen allegedly linked to the conspiracy. The residence of Chandan Singh Jeena was also searched. Jeena had earlier served as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to Harish Rawat during his tenure as Chief Minister from 2014 to 2017, the ED said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianetnews Editorial staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)