By Arun Pratap Singh
Dehradun, 10 Apr: Veteran Congress leader Harish Rawat has reacted sharply to a photograph of him made viral by Independent candidate and Khanpur MLA Umesh Kumar, in which he is seen presenting a bouquet to Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Sharing this picture of Harish Rawat and Modi on his social media accounts, Umesh Kumar claimed that after 19 April, Rawat and other Congress MLAs will also join the BJP with ten MLAs. The viral post has created an uproar in Haridwar.
Reacting sharply to the viral post, Harish Rawat also hit back at Umesh Kumar through social media posts on Facebook and other social media platforms. He wrote that this was the height of falsehood and a conspiracy is being hatched against him and the Congress. Rawat went to the extent of blaming the BJP for the viral post and claimed it is part of the BJP’s Toolkit operations. He reminded that, when he was the chief minister of Uttarakhand, the BJP through its “tools’ had conspired to topple his government and now by defaming him and his party, they are trying to win the general elections. He also claimed that the current BJP campaign is trying to create an impression that it is Modi Government in the state rather than Dhami Government. His photo with PM Modi has been made viral to create the political confusion that Congress is losing.
Rawat clarified that the photo is from 2016, when he was the chief minister of Uttarakhand and Prime Minister Narendra Modi had visited the state. Being the CM, he (Rawat) welcomed Modi to the state at the Helipad and presented him a bouquet as part of the protocol. He claimed that those who excel in creating fake narratives through fake sting operations are now dreaming of becoming a Lok Sabha MP. He was referring to Umesh Kumar, who is also contesting the Lok Sabha Elections as an independent candidate. It may also be worthwhile to remind here that prior to filing the nomination as an independent candidate from Haridwar, Umesh Kumar had also called on Congress leader in charge of the party affairs in Uttarakhand, Kumari Selja, in New Delhi, ostensibly to seek the party ticket from Haridwar. It may also be recalled that two of the sting operations undertaken by Umesh Kumar involved the then CM, Harish Rawat, and the then CM, Trivendra Singh Rawat. In fact, Harish Rawat is facing a CBI inquiry because of that sting operation. The photo of Harish Rawat with Modi was made viral with the aim to create an impression that Rawat is also likely to join the BJP and had met Modi in this connection.
Interestingly, the BJP candidate from Haridwar, Trivendra Singh Rawat, who is also a former Chief Minister was also, today, asked a question regarding the viral photo by media persons in Dehradun, today. In response, Rawat said that the matter does not concern him and therefore he will not like to make a direct comment on this. But he added that the incident is related to a ‘blackmailer’.
