Dehradun: Day after the Enforcement conducted raids at the premises of Congress leader and former Uttarakhand Minister, Harak Singh Rawat, in the alleged forest scam, Rawat has said that he was ready for the long drawn legal battle against the ED raids, which, he said, had “boosted my confidence”. The ED sleuths raided the premises of Rawat in Uttarakhand, Delhi and Chandigarh.
The raids were conducted in connection with the ongoing probe by the ED into the alleged forest scam during the tenure of Rawat as Uttarakhand Forest Minister when he was with the BJP. Rawat is accused in the illegal tree felling and construction in the Pakhro forest range of the Jim Corbett Park during his tenure as the Forest Minister.
In a special conversation with ETV Bharat, Harak Singh Rawat said there was no money in his locker. “There is some jewelry in the locker. The ED team has taken the key with them, so we are definitely worried about what will happen with the items,” Rawat said. He said that he will also talk to the party high command over the future course of action against the ED raids. We will fight the legal battle with all our might,” he said.
Rawat said that the ED raids had “boosted my confidence”. “ I had stepped down from the post of minister in 2022. This case is old, so why did ED remember the raid only now? It is clear that this action has been taken in view of the Lok Sabha elections. Till now I was thinking of not contesting the elections. But the ED raids have boosted my confidence,” he added.
Sources said that the ED team seized cash worth Rs 3.5 lakh during the raid on Rawat's house on Wednesday.
