Dehradun, Aug. 23 -- Senior Congress leader and former minister Harak Singh Rawat has stirred a political storm after a video surfaced on social media in which he alleged that as forest minister he collected money from mining contractors and contributed it to a fixed deposit created to fund the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). In the purported video, Rawat is heard claiming, "To tell you the truth, I have also given Rs.1 crore in the FD of Rs.30 crore made to run the BJP. I was the forest minister at that time. I also gave money by getting it from the mining mafia. I say that I should also be investigated. I am also at fault. If ED honestly investigates who all have given money in the FD of Rs.30 crore, the entire BJP will be in jail." He further alleged that during his tenure, he directed mining contractors in Ramnagar and Haldwani to bring cheques of Rs.10 lakh each. Rawat also accused the BJP government of irregularities in granting mining leases, particularly in Udham Singh Nagar. "I am not against mining. Mining should be done technically, without harming nearby settlements. But there is loot in the name of distributing mining leases," he said. Repeated attempts to reach Harak Singh Rawat for his response to the video remained unsuccessful. The BJP, however, dismissed the allegations outright. Party state media in-charge Manveer Singh Chouhan said, "The truth is that Harak Singh Rawat has been totally sidelined in the Congress party. He is frustrated and is making baseless allegations to become relevant in state politics again. Why doesn't he file a complaint in the ED or high court? He is just trying to create sensationalism." Rawat, a former BJP leader who returned to Congress ahead of the 2022 Assembly polls, has frequently found himself at the centre of controversies. His latest remarks are expected to further intensify the political slugfest in Uttarakhand as the mining sector continues to remain a flashpoint between the rivals. Harak Singh Rawat, had joined Congress ahead of assembly polls in the state in January 2022. His joining Congress had met with resistance from many Congress leaders given his role in destabilising the Congress government in 2016 when he led a rebellion of nine Congress MLAs and switched to BJP....