DEHRADUN: Uttarakhand BJP on Friday suspended a former cabinet minister who wrote a letter to PM Narendra Modi calling the Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat "anti-people".
In his letter, Lakhi Ram Joshi added that the CM should be removed due to his policies and conduct.
Bansidhar Bhagat, state BJP president said, "The former ministers and MLA Lakhi Ram Joshi has been suspended on disciplinary grounds. He has also been served a notice to furnish his reply in a week failing which he could be expelled from the party."
Senior state BJP leaders said that it is an internal matter and he should have told state leaders instead of complaining to the PM.
Devendra Bhasin, the spokesperson of the Uttarakhand BJP, said, "No one is above the party and indiscipline is never tolerated by anyone in the party. If there is any issue one can always discuss, debate, and resolve through dialogue."
Reacting to his suspension, Joshi said, "This is unethical and dictatorial behaviour. I will write to the honorable Prime Minister again. I fought for the Uttarakhand statehood in the past and has been in the Sangh (RSS) all my life which taught me discipline and to voice against wrongdoing. I will keep doing the same."
In a letter dated November 11, 2020, he wrote: "Today, people of Uttarakhand are in shock after they got to know that our current Chief Minister was busy accumulating black money. The honorable high court ordered CBI inquiry in the matter which diminished the stature of Uttarakhand at the national level. This needs to be taken seriously by our leadership."
Using sharp words, Joshi further said that CM Rawat's decisions are full-on controversies and have brought shame to the party and the state.
Uttarakhand High Court had directed the CBI to probe into allegations of corruption by a journalist against CM Rawat.
Order by Justice Ravindra Maithani dated October 27, 2020, said: "Superintendent of Police, CBI Dehradun is directed to register an FIR on the basis of the allegations levelled in para 8 of the petition in WPCRL no. 1187 of 2020 and investigate the case in accordance with the law, with promptitude."
The court also directed the quashing of an FIR registered against the journalist in July 2020 which includes charges of sedition along with others. However, a stay was granted by the Supreme Court in the matter.