Former Uttarakhand CM, Rawat expresses his ire against state chief via FB post

The former Uttarakhand chief minister Harish Rawat having lost from both the legislative assembly seats of the state during the previous election and leading to the shameful defeat of the division ridden Congress party in Uttarakhand is a disturbed politician these days.

The reason being he is being pre strategically isolated and sidelined by his own party president of the state namely Pritam Singh, the former cabinet minister in all the state Congress governments including in Rawat’s cabinet. One time a close confidante of Harish Rawat, like the former state Congress chief Kishore Upadhyay, who too is extremely anti Rawat, though leading an inactive political life these days, Pritam Singh is the son of late Gulab Singh Rawat a towering leader of the backwards and Rajputs in Jaunsaar Bhabher area and minister in the Uttar Pradesh government representing Uttarakhand. Pritam Singh is a five time MLA from Chhakrauta, Garhwal, Uttarakhand and is quite eloquent, youthful and carries a good image amongst his electorates and the organisation.

After the horrible defeat of the Congress Party in Uttarakhand the former CM Harish Rawat, a septuagenerian, who instead of leading a comfortable retired life has preferred to be more mobile and active politically by attending each and every socio political programme, function and event in UK, Delhi and even Mumbai and is easily available to accept the invitations. He perhaps intends to be the next time MP or is again eyeing on the chief ministership of Uttarakhand thinking that since the Himalayan state has always gone for change after every five year, in 2022 the party is again poised for a re come back. However, the new emerging youthful leadership like Pritam Singh, the present Congress state chief now see himself as the new force and the CM in the waiting after four years.

Hence, he want to keep his bete noire Harish Rawat away from the Uttarakhand politics, by all means. Sources reveal that the former CM Harish Rawat is never informed or invited in any party programme in any part of Uttarakhand. The group of Rawat has been completely sidelined and majority of them have either joined the Pritam Singh camp or joined BJP. The situation has gone awry to such an extent for Harish Rawat that he is now compelled to express his annoyance, reservation and complaint in social networking sites like facebook and Twitter, not even worried that such posts will invite the attention of media about the increasing inner party dissensions in Uttarakhand Congress involving the former CM and the current party president thus making mockery of the party in print and electronic press.

Actually, the crux of the matter is that the Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee has recently organised a successful motor cycle rally against the increasing price rise and poverty in the state capital Dehradun and Harish Rawat was not invited, not even informed. The rally was a grand success and acknowledged tremendous success. In the past programmes too Harish Rawat wasn’t invited. He is therefore badly furious but has no option but to air his grievances through the social networking sites like FB and twitter. Just have a look at the FB post of Rawat. Harish Rawat has, while congratulated the rally with a heavy heart but has expressed his annoyance, in the form of a complaint that had he been informed by the state president Pritam Singh, he would have loved to participate in the motor cycle rally, but he wasn’t.

He further writes that it would be in the fitness of things if he is informed and invited about the future programmes of Congress party in Uttarakhand as we the Congressmen should be united in order to confront the future challenges. But political analysts say that when Harish Rawat was the chief minister he too sidelined and cut to size all his political detractors and those who were capable, intelligent and asset for the party. After all it was during his tenure only that heavy weight leaders like Satpal Maharaj, former CM Vijay Bahuguna, former State Congress Chief Yashpal Arya and several MLAs were compelled to leave Congress and join BJP who are now enjoying the fruits of power and are ministers in the state BJP government.
SUNIL NEGI