Dehradun: Discord within the Congress in Uttarakhand came to the fore on Wednesday with former chief minister and party general secretary Harish Rawat hitting out at All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary and Uttarakhand in-charge Devendra Yadav and the party’s central leadership, alleging that he would They are not being allowed to work independently for the preparation of the upcoming assembly elections.
Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) officials and Rawat supporters have also criticized the state in-charge, which they describe as undue interference in the functioning of the state leadership.
“Power has left many crocodiles in the electoral sea that we have to swim in. However, the representatives of those on whose orders we have to swim are trying to tie my hands and feet. The organisation, instead of extending a helping hand, is either changing its face or playing a negative role in most places,” Rawat wrote in a Facebook and Twitter post on Wednesday without naming Devendra Yadav.
#Election_Ruppy_Sea
Isn’t it strange that the sea of choice is floating, the organizational structure for cooperation in most places, instead of extending the hand of cooperation, is either turning its back or playing a negative role. to swim in the sea,
1/2 pic.twitter.com/wc4LKVi1oc— Harish Rawat (@harishrawatcmuk) December 22, 2021
Elaborating on his plight, Rawat, who also heads the party’s election campaign committee, said, “It happened to me many a times that enough is enough and it is time to retire. But then an inner voice from within told me that I should not be afraid or give up. I am going through a period of massive obscurity. May the new year show us the right path. I am sure that Lord Kedarnath will guide me.”
When contacted, Yadav’s office informed ThePrint that the Uttarakhand in-charge is currently unwilling to respond to Rawat’s allegations. He said, ‘He knows everything that happened in Uttarakhand, but at the moment he is not ready to say anything on this issue. If he makes any statement you will be informed,” the office said.
When asked for her reaction on the matter, AICC Uttarakhand co-in-charge Deepika Pandey Singh told ThePrint that she was not aware of the developments and would be able to comment after speaking to Uttarakhand leaders and senior leaders in Delhi.
sign of strained relationship
Congress leaders in Uttarakhand said Rawat’s Facebook post was a clear indication of the strained relationship between him and Devendra Yadav.
A loyalist of Rawat and a PCC spokesperson said on condition of anonymity that Rawat’s post clearly pointed fingers at the central leadership of the Congress. He said Rawat was unhappy with the way he was progressing in the party, as his opponents were “seizing every opportunity to disappoint him and undermine his efforts to bring the party back to power”.
PCC vice-chairman Prithvipal Chauhan said, “Harish Rawat’s statements reflect the fact that things are not well between him and the AICC state in-charge.”
“Currently the Congress party is leading in terms of popularity, but if the strained relationship between Rawat and Yadav continues, it will prove to be detrimental to the party in the 2022 elections,” he said.
“It is a fact that the AICC in-charge is excessively interfering in the functioning and decisions of the PCC, which will have a demoralizing effect on the state leadership and party workers. It must be remembered that the party goes to the polls with the organization of the state and Harish Rawat is the face of the election campaign committee,” Chauhan said.
Uttarakhand PCC media advisor and senior party leader Surendra Agarwal, considered a loyalist of Rawat, also targeted Yadav. “There is a lot of interference by the state in-charge of AICC in PCC activities and decisions. If the AICC in-charge wants to take every power in their hands, then what will the PCC leadership do in the state? They said.
‘Excitement’
Uttarakhand Congress leaders said that Rawat’s opponents have been trying to tarnish his image and keep him away from party affairs for some time, but the immediate stimulus for his Facebook post was Rahul Gandhi’s December 16 rally in Dehradun.
The leaders said that Yadav and the anti-Rawat faction in the Congress completely ignored the former chief minister during that rally.
He said Yadav rebuked Rawat’s supporters at the rally when they raised slogans in favor of the former CM. Yadav asked the supporters to glorify not only Rawat but other leaders as well.
Further, Rawat’s supporters alleged that his posters and hoardings were removed from the venue and other parts of the city by “workers of the ruling BJP at the behest of their opponents in the Congress”.
“What was the need to demolish their hoardings and posters? We understand that some members of the Congress party are working closely with the ruling BJP to defeat the party and Harish Rawat,” said a Congress leader.
“BJP workers tore and took down Rawat’s posters and hoardings put up for Rahul Gandhi’s rally, but the AICC in-charge failed to take cognizance of it,” the leader said.
(Edited by Saikat Niyogi)
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