Amid speculations that heavyweight cabinet minister Harak Singh Rawat could join the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the Uttarakhand unit of the party has clarified that Rawat is not in touch with any leader of the state unit of AAP.  Addressing the media persons here on Saturday, the spokesperson of the AAP, Naveen Peershali said that the recent statement of Harak Singh Rawat that he would not contest the next assembly election is an internal matter of BJP and Rawat has made no contact with any state level leader of AAP. The spokesperson however added that he is not aware of any parleys Rawat could have had with the central leadership of AAP. He said that the recent episode involving Harak Singh Rawat shows that there is no coordination between the Chief Minister and ministers in Uttarakhand. The AAP spokesperson said that Rawat is free to join AAP if he wishes but he had to adopt the philosophy of the party.

Peershali alleged that the CM is acting in an autocratic way and more than half of the BJP MLAs are not happy with him. 

Another spokesperson of the party, Uma Sisodia alleged that the state government is protecting BJP MLA Mahesh Negi who is accused of sexual exploitation of a woman. She said that the state government has failed to take a decision on having a DNA test of the MLA which hurts the dignity of the woman. Sisodia demanded that the Mahesh Negi case should be handed over to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and the demand of the victim that DNA test should be conducted to ascertain paternity of her child should be accepted.