U'khand CM Harish Rawat fears Centre will misuse CBI against him

The Centre will use the CBI to harass the Uttarakhand government on the pretext of investigating so-called corruption in the state’s liquor policy, chief minister Harish Rawat said on Saturday, insisting he will come clean in any probe.

Rawat, who was scheduled to meet his Congress leadership in New Delhi later in the evening, is in trouble over the release of a secret CD in which his former secretary is allegedly heard negotiating a Rs 100 crore deal with a liquor trader in exchange of favourable policies.

The chief minister said the so-called sting operation was the handiwork of a group of land sharks which has been trying to pressure his government to approve certain projects.

“I know it (CBI) will be used against my government. I also believe few more CDs might emerge in a bid to train the guns on the Uttarakhand government,” Rawat told Hindustan Times.

Rawat said the BJP was “perturbed as the government has brought normalcy in the Kedarnath valley” and it was working to connect major religious spots in the hills through ropeways.

“The successful Char Dham pilgrimage has brought confidence among locals and pilgrims. The BJP thinks that I have snatched their ‘Hindu agenda’ from them and therefore they are worried a lot,” he said.