A new sting video has emerged in Uttarakhand, in which Congress legislator Madan Singh Bisht is apparently heard saying that he has convinced former Chief Minister Harish Rawat to pay Rs 25 lakh each to 12 Congress MLAs so that they vote in his favour in the floor test on May 10, reported The Indian Express. In the video that was aired by regional channel Samachar Plus, Bisht was speaking to rebel MLA Harak Singh Rawat. The television channel had done another sting on Rawat in the past accusing him of horse trading.

Bisht had filed an FIR at the Rajpur police station in Dehradun against Harak Singh and his allies. In the complaint, he said they told him that they would destroy his reputation and register false cases against him if he voted for Rawat.

The former chief minister accused the Centre of spreading divisive politics. "Our leaders are receiving threatening calls. My phone lines are being tapped. I am also being kept under surveillance as if I am an anti-national,” he said, adding that he plans to start a campaign against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party after the floor test.

The state Congress dismissed the new sting operation as a political conspiracy, and said that they will look at legal options against it. The state has been facing a crisis since the nine Congress leaders opposed Rawat, soon after which President’s Rule was imposed in the state, a day before Rawat was to undergo a floor test on March 28.

The authenticity of the video has not been verified independently by Scroll.in.