CBI asks ex-CM Harish Rawat to appear before court in 2016 sting video case

The CBI has served a notice to former Uttarakhand chief minister Harish Rawat in connection with the 2016 sting operation, asking him to appear before a CBI court on July 4 to give a voice sample.

Sleuths from the Central Bureau of Investigation arrived at Rawat's residence Thursday morning to serve him the notice but he was not at home.

The notice was served to him later in the day when Rawat himself informed the CBI, both on phone and through a social media post, that he had returned home.

Reacting to the CBI notice, the Congress leader said he and his party had already suffered all the damage the "conspiratorial sting operation could inflict on us" in 2016-17.

"However, I am ready for any kind of persecution in the hope that the law will one day stand by us and truth will prevail," he said, adding, he will fight the battle in the CBI court and beyond.

The sting video in question had surfaced in 2016 in the wake of nine Congress MLAs revolting against Rawat, the then chief minister, and joining hands with the BJP, virtually reducing his government to a minority.

The video created a major controversy as it purportedly showed Rawat negotiating a deal to buy back the support of disgruntled party MLAs.

The revolt by party MLAs led to the imposition of president's rule in the state for a brief period.

Rawat's government was reinstated after he won a Supreme Court-monitored trust vote in the state assembly.