DEHRADUN: The BJP on Thursday welcomed the Supreme Court's stay on the Uttarakhand High Court's order for a CBI probe into corruption allegations against Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat, saying it has foiled a conspiracy to defame him and destabilise the state government.
"We hail the apex court's stay. It is a blow to conspirators trying to defame the chief minister and destabilise the state government," state BJP president Bansidhar Bhagat said in a statement.
"It has also landed the Congress, which was raising a hue and cry over the issue, in an embarrassing situation," he said.
The Supreme Court on Thursday stayed the Uttarakhand High Court's order for a CBI probe into corruption allegations against Rawat, terming it as "drastic". The Supreme Court said the order was passed without hearing the chief minister and surprised everyone.
However, the Congress staged a protest, demanding the chief minister's resignation on moral grounds.
Led by AICC general secretary and former chief minister Harish Rawat, state Congress president Pritam Singh and vice-president Suryakant Dhasmana, hundreds of Congress workers marched from the party office to the Raj Bhawan but were not allowed to cross the police barricades at Hathi Barkala Chowk.