Harish Rawat, senior leader of the Congress Party and minister of state for parliamentary affairs and food process has been sulking ever since Vijay Bahuguna was sworn in as the chief minister of Uttrakhand at the instance of Congress president Sonia Gandhi.
The defeat in the elections has put a question mark on the five-time MP and former Union minister's political future.
Keen to rejoin the Congress after being expelled from the Bharatiya Janata Party, Harak Singh Rawat on Tuesday said he is ready to apologise to former chief minister Harish Rawat any number of times for the sake of Uttarakhand's interests.
Union minister Harish Rawat, who lost in the race for Uttarakhand chief ministership, is sulking and said to have resigned from the Union government.
Rawat had played a crucial role in the removal of Amarinder Singh as chief minister of Punjab, who was replaced by Charanjit Singh Channi.
In a tweet in Hindi, Rawat said, 'Isn't it strange that the organisational structure at most places, instead of extending a helping hand, is standing with its head turned away or playing a negative role at a time when I have to swim across the ocean of elections.'
Opinion polls by a section of the media channels have stated that Harish Rawat is the most liked politician for the post of chief minister, way ahead of Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami.
With Sonia Gandhi putting her seal of approval on his name, Harish Rawat was elected on Saturday the Congress Legislature Party leader in Uttarakhand, paving the way for Haridwar MP's swearing in as new chief minister of the hill state.
Harish Rawat, a Union Minister, was on Saturday sworn in as the new chief minister of Uttarakhand, succeeding Vijay Bahuguna who was asked by the Congress high command to step down in a bid to boost the party's prospects ahead of the April-May Lok Sabha polls.
Rawat has been called by the CBI to join the probe on Monday, sources said.
The high court dismissed the petition of Congress MLAs challenging their disqualification and the Supreme Court refusing to give any relief to them.
Union Minister Harish Rawat, who was sulking after having been denied chief ministership of Uttarakhand, on Sunday had all smiles as celebrations broke out at his residence in New Delhi over his elevation to the Cabinet rank.
He said that to concentrate on the upcoming polls in Uttarakhand, it had been on his mind to seek to be relieved of the responsibility of the party's Punjab affairs in-charge.
He said that just as there are rules related to religious conduct in mosques and churches, there are also traditional rules in Hindu religious places.
With the Bharatiya Janata Party waiting to pull down the Congress-led state government, the new chief minister's duration of service will all depend on the results of the Lok Sabha elections, says Anita Katyal.
With the Uttarakhand assembly set to witness a crucial floor test on May 10, a new crisis has risen for former chief minister Harish Rawat in the form of a fresh sting video, which allegedly shows Congress Member of Legislative Assembly Madan Singh admitting to horse-trading.
Close aides say Rawat does not give in easily and uses all political tools to marginalise his adversaries.
Rawat lost from Kichcha and Haridwar (Rural) seats.
It's being touted as the baap of all face-swaps.
Uttarakhand Police have filed an FIR to identify alleged 'VIPs' in connection with the Ankita Bhandari murder case, following a recommendation for a CBI probe. The FIR was lodged based on a complaint filed by environmentalist Anil Prakash Joshi, highlighting concerns about concealed or destroyed evidence related to an unidentified 'VIP'.
Uttarakhand CM Harish Rawat visited BJP MP Tarun Vijay in the hospital, who was attacked by a mob after he visited a temple in Chakrata along with a Dalit leader.
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat was on Tuesday examined by the Central Bureau of Investigation for nearly five hours
Rebel Congress MLA and former chief minister Vijay Bahuguna, who also reached Delhi, said he is surprised why CM Harish Rawat has not resigned so far on moral grounds.
Uttarakhand minister Amrita Rawat, wife of Satpal Maharaj who recently left Congress to join the Bharatiya Janata Party, was on Monday sacked by Chief Minister Harish Rawat from the state cabinet and an Independent member of Legislative Assembly was sworn in as minister.
'If this was not tokenism, why is the central government not bringing the UCC, why is a small state like Uttarakhand doing so?'
Earlier, the Uttarakhand high court had refused to quash the ongoing CBI probe into the sting operation, following which the agency had summoned the chief minister.
The feud in the Uttarakhand Congress is far from over. Rediff.com gives you a low down on how the Congress victory in Uttarakhand turned sour and what to expect next.
Rawat through his tweets on Wednesday had expressed anguish at the factionalism in the state unit and noted that thought has been crossing his mind that "it is time to rest".
Just weeks before the assembly polls, expelled Bharatiya Janata Party's Uttarakhand minister Harak Singh Rawat rejoined his old party, the Congress, on Friday in the presence of former chief minister Harish Rawat.
Names of at least half a dozen leaders, including Dhan Singh Rawat, Bhagat Singh Koshyari, Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and Satpal Maharaj, are doing the rounds to replace Trivendra Singh Rawat, who resigned as the chief minister of Uttarakhand on Tuesday.
Under the Supreme Court-monitored proceedings, the result of the vote will be given to the court on Wednesday morning.
Congress member of Parliament Vijay Bahuguna was on Tuesday sworn in as the chief minister of Uttarakhand after the Congress overruled a revolt by another MP Harish Rawat, who is said to have offered to resign from the Union government.
"Congress state in-charge Harish Rawat is my good friend but who gave him the right to take such a big decision about Punjab at his level? What is the meaning of Captain's leadership now after the Kharge committee's decision to contest elections under Sonia Gandhi and Rahul Gandhi?" Congress MLA Pargat Singh said.
Before forcing arguably the tallest Congress leader from Uttarakhand to bite the dust in the polls to make his maiden entry into the state assembly, Bisht had only won a zila panchayat poll in 2019.
An Uttar Pradesh government spokesperson said a formal order for all eateries along the Kanwar Yatra route in the state was likely to be issued soon.
The Union government on Wednesday told the Supreme Court that former chief minister and Congress leader Harish Rawat had won the floor test in the Uttarakhand assembly following which it will revoke President's rule in the hill state.
A Bharatiya Janata Party leader and Right to Information activist on Saturday accused the Harish Rawat government of paying Rs 47.19 lakh out of disaster relief funds to a firm, in which singer Kailash Kher has a stake, for a tourism video featuring cricketer Virat Kohli.
Uttarakhand Governor Krishna Kant Paul on Saturday asked Chief Minister Harish Rawat to prove his majority on the floor of the state assembly by March 28 as the political crisis escalated with the Bharatiya Janata Party, claiming the support of rebel Congress MLAs, stepped up efforts to form its government.
Sources said Rawat left the meeting as he was angry that a proposal for a medical college in Kotdwar -- his constituency -- was not being cleared by the cabinet.
The Central Bureau of Investigation on Tuesday questioned Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat in connection with its inquiry into a sting operation in which he is purportedly seen trying to influence some dissident Congress MLAs.
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