Former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat on Sunday accepted his presence in the video of the sting operation conducted by a private news channel in which he is shown negotiating a money deal with a journalist to buy the support of the nine Congress MLAs who had revolted against him. Rawat, who had earlier dismissed the video as fake, said that meeting a journalist was not a crime.

"If one of the MLAs who had not been technically disqualified by that time talked to me, how does it matter? Do we block any channels in politics?" Rawat told reporters, adding that if any evidence is found of him making an offer in cash or in kind in exchange for the support of the rebel MLAs, he was ready to be hanged in public, reported PTI.

The Central Bureau of Investigation on Friday registered a preliminary inquiry into the matter. On March 26, rebel Congress leaders in the state had released a video purportedly showing the deposed chief minister trying to buy back their support during a floor test in the assembly scheduled for March 28. This alleged sting operation was one of the factors that led to the imposition of President’s Rule in Uttarakhand.