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This Article is From Mar 27, 2016

BJP Bribed Lawmakers To Trigger Crisis, Paid Rs 500 Crore: Harish Rawat

BJP Bribed Lawmakers To Trigger Crisis, Paid Rs 500 Crore: Harish Rawat
9 Uttarakhand Congress legislators had rebelled against Chief Minister Harish Rawat.
Dehradun: Soon after President's Rule was imposed in Uttarakhand, dismissing the Congress government led by Harish Rawat, the former chief minister contended that it was a deliberate conspiracy by the BJP, and it was executed with bribery to the tune of Rs 500 to 1000 crore.

"The BJP constructed a money deal through the bull of Indiabulls, some say it was worth 500 crores... They were bidding for MLAs... The deal was clinched at the last minute and the rebellion happened," said Mr Rawat, insisting that he was still in office since he was yet to receive a formal notification.

The reference was to Saket Bahuguna, the son of rebel lawmaker and former chief minister Vijay Bahugna, who worked in a senior position in Indiabulls.

The allegations came within an hour of the imposition of the President's Rule. Earlier in the afternoon, Mr Rawat had insisted that the BJP had "attacked democracy with money and muscle power", but had refrained from giving details.

"From Day One, the BJP-led Central government has been baying for my blood and of my government, Mr Rawat said in the evening.

Indicating that the Centre was out to subvert governance in the state, he said the state's share in the Budget had been "reduced significantly". "They (the Centre) did not even send funds for Kumbh mela in Haridwar," he added.

But despite this, he said, the government had released a "fantastic budget"  which left out "No class of society."

The BJP, he said, decided to destabilise the government after the budget was presented. The crisis was triggered after nine lawmakers rebelled, joining the JBP to demand a division of votes on the finance bill.

As the matter snowballed, with the BJP claiming majority and the Speaker reportedly issuing notice to the rebel lawmakers asking why they should not be disqualified, the rebels presented a sting video that purportedly showed Mr Rawat indulging in horse trading to save the government. Mr Rawat has trashed the charges.

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