In a surprising development, Senior Congressman Harish Rawat, who is also a prominent campaign face in poll-bound Uttarakhand shared some cryptic social media posts on Wednesday, demonstrating his unhappiness with the All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary and Uttarakhand in-charge Devendra Yadav and the party’s central leadership. He alleged that he is being sidelined by the party high command and is not being allowed to work freely towards preparing for the assembly elections next year.
Expressing his disaffection, Rawat posted on Facebook that “power” has “left several crocodiles” in the “ocean of elections”, representatives of those on whose orders he is swimming are tying his hands, and that “it is time to rest”.
Taking to social media, Rawat posted: “Hai na ajeeb si baat, chunav rupi samudra ko tairna hai, sahyog ke liye sangthan ka dhancha adhikansh sthanon par sahyog ka haath aage badhne ke bajay ya toh muh pher karke khada ho ja raha hai ya nakaratmak bhumika nibha raha hai. Jis samudra mein tairna hai satta ne wahan kayi magarmachh chhor rakhe hain (It is strange, isn’t it, I have to swim in the ocean of elections. Instead of stretching its arms for help, the organisational structure is either ignoring me or playing a negative role. The leadership has left several crocodiles in the ocean where I have to swim).”
Another post read: “Jinke aadesh pe tairna hai, unke numainde mere haath-paanv bandh rahe hain. Mann mein bahut baar vichar aa raha ke Harish Rawat ab bahut ho gaya, bahut tair liye, ab vishram ka samay hai. Phir chupke se mann ke ek kone se awaaz uth rahi hai ‘na dainyam na palayanam’ badi upapoh ki sthiti mein hun. Naya varsh shayad raasta dikha de. Mujhe vishwas hai ke Bhagwan Kedarnath ji is sthiti me mera margdarshan karenge (The representatives of those on whose orders I have to swim are tying up my hands and feet. On several occasions, it comes to my mind that I have swum enough and it is time to rest. Then another voice rises, asking me to never be helpless and never run away. I am in a dilemma. May the new year show me my path. I am sure that Bhagwan Kedarnath will show me the way).”
At the helm of these affairs is a constant feud between Rawat and Devendra Yadav. The former feels that ahead of the assembly elections in 2022, instead of receiving support and trust from the Congress party he is being sidelined, which could derail his political position in Uttarakhand.
A leader close to Rawat told the Indian Express, “The duty of the AICC in-charge is to ensure coordination between various leaders. But there is a perception that Yadav himself is becoming the party. There is a very serious conspiracy against the Congress and Rawat. The BJP is hatching this conspiracy to ensure that the Congress does not come back to power.”
It is interesting to note here that another Congress leader from Uttarakhand, Pritam Singh, is also at loggerheads with Rawat over organisational and committee issues. This further confirms that all is not well within the Congress party, which could directly impact the electoral base ahead of the assembly election in Uttarakhand.
Congress MP Manish Tewari, who has been speaking against the Congress leadership consistently and is also a prominent G-23 member, took to Twitter and said: “First Assam, then Punjab, now Uttarakhand. Bhog poora hi paun gaye kasar na rahe jawe koi (spare no efforts to damage the party)”.
When asked by the media personnel regarding the possible meaning of his cryptic social media posts, Rawat replied, “When the time comes, I will share everything with you. Who else will I speak to, if I don’t speak to you? I will call you. For now, just have fun.” This would most likely have sent shockwaves across the Congress. In the last few years, especially since PM Narendra Modi came to power in 2014, a big chunk of Congress leaders have switched parties and joined the BJP or other opposition parties, which has been a matter of concern and worry for the grand old party that has been battling for its lost glory.
The BJP’s Tirath Rawat, former CM of Uttarakhand, reacted to these critical developments and said, “When Harish Rawat says something, then there is definitely something wrong. It is an internal Congress matter. There is a rift in the party.”
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Capt. Amarinder Singh Takes A Jibe At Rawat
Former Congressman and Punjab CM Capt. Singh, who recently left the party after feeling humiliated and indicating that there’s a strong trust deficit, took a jibe at Harish Rawat. He tweeted, “You reap what you sow! All the best for your future endeavours (if there are any).”
In his resignation letter to Congress president Sonia Gandhi in November, Capt. Singh had slammed Rawat and dubbed him as the “most dubious individual”.
Reacting sharply to these developments, the Congress high-command has summoned top party leaders from Uttarakhand, including Harish Rawat, along with Congress Legislature Party leader Pritam Singh, state Congress chief Ganesh Godiyal and party leader Yashpal Arya, who are expected to arrive in Delhi tomorrow to meet Rahul Gandhi.
