Saturday, 28 August 2021 | PNS | Dehradun
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and its chief ministerial candidate in Uttarakhand, Ajay Kothiyal has demanded Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) inquiry into Covid-19 testing scam during Kumbh Mela in Haridwar. Kothiyal said that the chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has suspended two officials from the health department which is just for show because such a big scam could not be pulled off without the support of senior officials and leaders. “This scam is considerably responsible for Covid-19 spread this year due to which many lost their lives. It has also insulted the religious sentiments of crores of Hindus,” asserted Kothiyal. Calling this scam a failure of the government, he said that the government gave such a big responsibility to such an organisation which did not just fail in its work but cheated the system and the public of the country.
He said that the government here should conduct a CBI inquiry not to just catch the responsible party for the scam but also to know what went wrong from the government’s side. “The government has not permitted Char Dham Yatra due to the apprehension that it may cause a rise in Covid cases as it did after Kumbh. The employment of thousands of people is being affected due to the suspension of Char Dham Yatra. The testing scam affected so many things in the State and a proper inquiry is necessary to understand what went wrong, who was involved and what could have been done better in that situation,” stated Kothiyal. He asserted that if Dhami does not hand over this investigation to CBI soon then it will be clear to everyone that he wants to save the officials and party members responsible for the scam.
