Uttarakhand State Cooperative Federation Chairman Pramod Kumar Singh embroiled in corruption charges leveled by BJP govt, has hit back accusing the govt of politicizing the issue with an aim to capture state co-op bodies. “I will not rest till the truth comes out”, vowed Singh.
Talking to Indian Cooperative Singh said “these are false and baseless allegations; the notice that I have received from the govt does not even mention once about the Rs 17.5 crore scam, which is so widely being circulated by the govt agencies on purpose.
It bears recall that Singh who is on the board of both NCUI and IFFCO is facing allegations of bribe to the tune of Rs 17.5 crore in two factories including Nainital based Soyabean Factory and Ranikhet based Drug Factory of the cooperative union.
Singh pooh-poohs it as an election gimmick. “The elections of cooperatives are to be held soon and the state government is making false and baseless allegations in order to gain politically”, he added.
“Hell-bent on destroying cooperatives in the state Cooperative Minister Dan Singh Rawat is even questioning the legality of more than 80 cooperatives active in the state”, he said..
According to the inquiry report of the govt, the State Cooperative Federation had to return Rs 3.91 crore to state but it failed to do so causing financial loss to the state government.
The report also alleges that Ranikhet based Durg Factory paid Rs 17.08 crore of commission to the agents from the year of 2004 whereas Uttarakhand State Cooperative Medicine and Pharmaceuticals limited paid an amount of Rs 47.92 lakh as commission to the agents.
The show-cause notice sent to Pramod Kumar Singh does not mention any scam rather questions the auctioning of
an Ambassador at a lower price, states Singh.
Meanwhile, Cooperative Minister of Uttarakhand Dhan Singh Rawat said” the state government will not tolerate corruption at any cost. I have no personal animosity against anyone and action will be taken based on the facts which have come out in the investigation report. There is no pressure from the state government or the authorities on me”, he clarified.
