Disclose details of companies with whom MoU signed: AAP to CM Harish Rawat

DEHRADUN: Aam Aadmi Party today fired a fresh salvo against Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat asking him to reveal details of the companies which allegedly struck deals worth Rs 3,300 crore with the state government.

The AAP, which had alleged that these companies could be fake as they had "no digital footprints" and may be a front for money laundering, rejected the government's clarification and threatened to continue its "battle against corruption till the very end".

Reacting to the allegations, Chief Minister's media in charge Surendra Kumar had said, "The MoU is in initial stage and no money transaction has taken place. So there is no need of making a fuss, which could affect the investment climate in the state."

He said the pact was part of state government's efforts to find possibilities in the state.

Dissatisfied with Uttarakhand government's response, senior Aam Aadmi Party leader Anoop Nautiyal posed a series of counter questions to the CM.

"Rawat is yet to disclose the name and address of the companies with whom the deal was signed, the identities of their directors and promoters," the AAP leader said. The basic questions regarding the credentials of the foreign firms still remain unanswered.

On the state government's contention that the MoU was in a preliminary stage, he said MoUs are never executed in a phased manner.

Asking the Chief Minister why he was becoming a votary of MoUs with "fraud" companies, Nautiyal wondered when would IT giants like Infosys, Wipro, TCS, Accenture, Mindtree and Adobe get a chance to come and invest in Uttarakhand.

Nautiyal had unsuccessfully contested the last Lok Sabha polls on an AAP ticket from Tehri.

Citing official documents, Nautiyal had claimed an MoU was signed between the Uttarakhand government and International Oil Corporation (IOC), UAE and Kabul and Hong Kong Based Nuwam Limited for an investment worth $ 500 million on December 9 at Uttarakhand Sadan, New Delhi in the presence of Rawat.

Producing copy of an official release informing the media about the signing of the MoU, Nautiyal had alleged that the existence of these companies is suspect as they have no "digital footprint.

"If the allegations are proved true, the Chief Minister should immediately resign on moral grounds and the MoU with the so called companies be cancelled," he said.