DEHRADUN: A fresh political row in Uttarakhand has intensified after former minister Harak Singh Rawat and BJP state president Mahendra Bhatt exchanged accusations over a complaint involving a woman, an earlier investigation and demands for DNA tests.
Both leaders have made allegations and counterclaims. Bhatt said on November 5 that asking who the father of the woman’s son is was a legitimate question and that people in the state also wanted an answer. He added that if Rawat was calling for another DNA test, he too was willing to undergo one.
Bhatt rejected Rawat’s allegations about an earlier incident in Nandprayag-Ghat, describing them as baseless. He warned that he would file a defamation case if Rawat continued making such statements. Bhatt also argued that a woman’s complaint and demand for justice should not be dismissed as a political conspiracy.
Rawat said the matter involving him had ended 23 years ago, after a Central Bureau of Investigation probe, and that he had received relief from the court. He questioned why the old inquiry was being challenged now, noting that the BJP was in power at the Centre under then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee when the case emerged. “If there was any irregularity in the DNA test, responsibility also lies with the system in place at that time,” Rawat said, according to the account of his remarks.
He called for Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami and Bhatt to undergo DNA tests as well, and said he would leave politics if found guilty. Rawat also said he would pursue defamation proceedings against those he accused of conspiring to damage the woman’s and his own reputations.
The legal status of the latest complaint remains unclear. There are reports that a zero FIR has been registered in Assam, but Uttarakhand authorities have not officially confirmed this, and Assam Police have not issued a statement on the matter.
A zero FIR can be registered at any police station, regardless of jurisdiction, and later transferred to the police station concerned. In Uttarakhand, police have already begun examining a complaint by the woman.
The inquiry has been assigned to the circle officer in Doiwala. If a zero FIR is formally transferred to Uttarakhand Police, it could lead to further legal action. The dispute has also revived earlier clashes between Rawat and the BJP leadership.
On November 4, Rawat referred to an old incident in Nandprayag-Ghat and asked Bhatt why, while serving as an MLA, he had been locked in a room by local people.
Rawat warned that he would make the full details of the incident public if Bhatt continued speaking against him. The exchange followed Rawat’s August 30, 2025, allegation that the BJP was involved in a ₹27-crore “scam” and that several party leaders were corrupt.
He claimed he had witnessed irregularities while in the party and was now bringing them to public attention. Rawat has made repeated critical remarks in recent months about the BJP state president, the chief minister and other senior leaders, keeping him in the headlines and prompting responses from the party.
The latest row has further fused personal and political grievances, even as the police inquiry proceeds. Neither the competing claims nor the reported Assam FIR have yet been officially verified.