By Arun Pratap Singh
Dehradun, August 22: The Uttarakhand unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has faced lot of embarrassment due to certain actions of its party leaders. As a result, the credibility of the party which claims to be a party with a difference has taken a dent. The latest case is of Dwarahat MLA Mahesh Negi, who is currently facing charges of sexual exploitation levelled by a lady who has not only accused him of sexual exploitation but also of fathering her child. The party’s core committee is meeting in Dehradun on Sunday and the party has summoned Negi and three other party MLAs and has sought their clarifications on different issues from them.
It is noteworthy that the police is claiming to investigate the woman’s complaint against Mahesh Negi, but the investigations don’t seem to be progressing well enough. The woman has levelled certain allegations against the Police too including delay in filing the FIR and of not taking the investigation seriously. Of course, the MLA’s statement has been recorded once by the Police but apart from that there doesn’t seem to be much progress in the inquiry of the case on the ground level as yet. The woman has also demanded Mahesh Negi’s DNA test to confirm the paternity of her child. Of course, the DNA test can be carried out only on the orders of the court if Negi does not voluntarily agree for a DNA test. It is also noteworthy that last year, the then General Secretary of the party Sanjay Kumar was also accused of sexual exploitation. Though the woman had not openly come forward, but her allegations had caused much embarrassment to the party and for quite some time, the party had hesitated to take any action against Sanjay Kumar. It was after much embarrassment that the party finally expelled Kumar from the post and the party.
The party’s state in-charge Shyam Jaju is currently in Dehradun and according to sources, the party leadership is very serious about the allegations made against Mahesh Negi. The elections are also not too far away as they are scheduled to be held in the state within two years and the possibility of a negative impact on the performance of the party due to any such case cannot be ruled out.
Party sources claim that until the investigation in Mahesh Negi’s case is completed, the party leadership was mulling on suspending Negi from the party till proven innocent.
Other MLAs summoned by the party at the moment include Deshraj Karnwal, who remains much in news for his controversial statements and Kunwar Pranav Singh Champion, who had been expelled from the party for indiscipline ground and who according to sources is striving for his return to the party. Since his expulsion from the party, Kunwar Pranav Singh Champion has kept himself away from controversies and there is a strong possibility that the party may allow him to rejoin the party.
