Will quit politics if allegations in Jenny case prove false: Harak Singh Rawat

Former Uttarakhand cabinet minister and Congress leader Dr. Harak Singh Rawat has issued an open challenge to the BJP regarding the allegations levelled against him in the Jenny case. According to a report by Amar Ujala, Rawat has declared that if a single stain is proven against him in this case, he will retire from politics. He has demanded that the entire episode be honestly re-investigated under court supervision.

During a conversation with the media at Congress Bhavan, Harak Singh Rawat challenged BJP leaders, asking who would be held responsible if he is proven honest in this investigation. He further stated that DNA tests should be conducted for him as well as for BJP leaders under court supervision. Rawat claimed that in the records of Doon Hospital, the father of Jenny's son is registered as 'Bablu'.

Harak Singh Rawat has made serious allegations against the BJP governments at the state and centre. He stated that the Jenny episode was a conspiracy hatched by the BJP to tarnish his image. Referring to the past, Rawat said that in 2003, he had requested the then Chief Minister N.D. Tiwari to allow Jenny, who was staying in a Nari Niketan (women's shelter), to meet the media, but she was not allowed to do so.

He added that if he were wrong in this episode, his morale would have been broken, but since he is not wrong, he is presenting his case aggressively. Linking this issue to other political events, Rawat said that currently, the entire country and Uttarakhand are demanding justice in the Ankita Bhandari murder case. In his view, the Jenny episode is being raised again only to suppress the voice of the Ankita Bhandari case.

Harak Singh Rawat further clarified that he has already received a clean chit in the CBI investigation. Therefore, the allegations made by the BJP are baseless. He emphasised that he stands by the truth and has no objection to a judicial probe. A round of allegations and counter-allegations regarding this case is currently ongoing in Uttarakhand politics, in which the former minister has set a condition of political retirement to prove his innocence.