The AAP, which had alleged that these companies could be fake as they had "no digital footprints" and may be a front for money laundering, rejected the government's clarification and threatened to continue its "battle against corruption till the very end".
Reacting to the allegations, Chief Minister's media in charge Surendra Kumar had said, "The MoU is in initial stage and no money transaction has taken place. So there is no need of making a fuss, which could affect the investment climate in the state."
Dissatisfied with Uttarakhand government's response, senior Aam Aadmi Party leader Anoop Nautiyal posed a series of counter questions to the CM.
"Rawat is yet to disclose the name and address of the companies with whom the deal was signed, the identities of their directors and promoters," the AAP leader said. The basic questions regarding the credentialsof the foreign firms still remain unanswered.
On the state government's contention that the MoU was in a preliminary stage, he said MoUs are never executed in a phased manner.
Nautiyal had unsuccessfully contested the last Lok Sabha polls on an AAP ticket from Tehri.
Citing official documents, Nautiyal had claimed an MoU was signed between the Uttarakhand government and International Oil Corporation (IOC), UAE and Kabul and Hong Kong Based Nuwam Limitedfor an investment worth USD 500 million on December 9 at Uttarakhand Sadan, New Delhi in the presence of Rawat.
"If the allegations are proved true, the Chief Minister should immediately resign on moral grounds and the MoU with the so called companies be cancelled," he said.
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