Bahuguna struggles for control as infighting continues

Dehradun: The infighting in the ruling Congress in Uttarakhand has failed to end despite chief minister Vijay Bahuguna’s desperate efforts to put a lid on the crisis even as notices have been issued to 36 Congress leaders. A war of words has escalated between union minister Harish Rawat and his political rival and Congress leader Satpal Maharaj with the party high command asking the two leaders not to air their opinion publicly. Both Rawat and Maharaj have accused each other of back-stabbing and creating hurdles in the race for the chief minister, which both of them lost to Bahuguna. The tensions arose between the two leaders when cabinet minister Amrita Rawat, wife of Maharaj, recently asked Bahuguna not to work under the pressure of Harish Rawat. This infuriated Rawat, who said that Maharaj should now feel happy that he could not become chief minister. [caption id=“attachment_262577” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=" The infighting in the ruling Congress in Uttarakhand continues despite chief minister Bahuguna’s efforts to put a lid on the crisis. PTI"]  [/caption] “Maharaj should feel happy that I could not become the chief minister,” Rawat told reporters in the Assembly on Thursday. After that, Maharaj again accused Rawat of committing alleged sins in the holy city of Haridwar which he said would not be redeemed. Following the war of words, the party high command has asked the two leaders not to air their views publicly, Congress sources said. On the other hand, cabinet minister and PCC chief Yashapal Arya has also registered his protest with Bahuguana over a host of issues. Similarly, senior Congress leader Harak Singh Rawat is not ready to compromise with the cabinet berth and wants the post of deputy chief minister. In addition to this, all the seven non-BJP MLAs, who are supporting the Congress government, are maintaining a consistent pressure on Bahuguna for getting various key portfolios and other posts for their supporters. Bahuguna, on the other hand, has made it clear that he would work by taking the party high command into confidence. “All decisions will be taken by the party high command in consultation with the chief minister,” said Bahuguna. Mantri Prasad Naithani, an independent MLA from Devprayag, has asked the chief minister to give the vacant cabinet berth to Dinesh Dhanai, an independent MLA from Tehri. Meanwhile, Bahuguna has again appealed to all party leaders and workers to work united for the welfare of Uttarakhand and its people. Congress has issued notices to 36 party leaders for working against the interests of the party during recent assembly elections. However, sources said most of the leaders who were given notices belong to Harish Rawat group and have been asked to file replies within 15 days. PTI