BJP, Cong tussle over PDS scam in Uttarakhand

DEHRADUN: The Uttarakhand government’s plan to order a special probe to examine political involvement in the ₹600 crore Public Distribution System (PDS) scam has taken a political twist.

The ruling BJP is holding the previous Congress government responsible for the swindle and the opposition has dared the government to prove its charges.

Chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat removed Kumaon regional food controller (RFC) VS Dhanik on Monday after a special investigation team (SIT) found irregularities, including poor quality of rice being given to the poor in Haldwani region.

Harish Rawat was CM from early 2014 till March 2017 when the BJP defeated Congress, and present state Congress chief Pritam Singh was food minister.

Official sources said the probe will look into whether politicians benefited from the scam. “It is an obvious next step after the SIT investigation,” an official said.

On Thursday, Rawat’s party blamed the Congress. “All irregularities unearthed in the scam took place in the past two years under the previous Congress regime,” state BJP president Ajay Bhatt alleged. Dhanik had been given extension of tenure thrice by the previous government, he said, adding Harish Rawat and Pritam Singh were answerable for the scam.

The Congress said it feared no probe. Singh questioned why it was being limited to two years.