By Arun Pratap Singh
Dehradun, 26 Aug: Senior Cabinet Minister Subodh Uniyal has targeted former Chief Minister and veteran Congress leader Harish Rawat over his recent statement on Gairsain as the capital of the state. It may be recalled that in a recent statement, Rawat had claimed that he had planned to declare Gairsain as the state capital of Uttarakhand but was prevented from doing so by some Congress leaders who later deserted the party, leading to the fall of his government. He was referring to Congress leaders like Vijay Bahuguna, Subodh Uniyal, Harak Singh Rawat, Shaila Rani Rawat, Sarita Arya and Umesh Sharma ‘Kau’, all of them being MLAs had left Congress bringing down his government.
Speaking to Garhwal Post, Uniyal reminded Rawat that soon after he (Uniyal) and other MLAs left the party, the Harish Rawat Government was reinstated and continued as the Chief Minister almost for a year till the assembly elections in 2017. Uniyal said that, instead of blaming him (Uniyal and other Congress MLAs who had quit Congress), Rawat must explain why he did not declare Gairsain as the state capital during the one year period that he continued as Chief Minister thereafter.
Uniyal claimed that he was shocked to hear about this claim of Harish Rawat that he could not declare Gairsain as the capital because of the MLAs who quit Congress. He said that Harish Rawat is a veteran Congress leader and currently the tallest party leader in the state and, therefore, it is not only shocking but regrettable that he should be making such baseless claims. Uniyal also reminded that while Rawat sought to blame him and other Congress leaders who had quit the Congress in 2016 for his failure to take a decision regarding Gairsain, he forgot to mention that he remained the CM for almost a year after they (Uniyal, Harak Rawat, Vijay Bahuguna and others) quit the party. He continued as CM after the fall of his government for a brief period but did not even mention Gairsain or his plans regarding Gairsain.
Uniyal claimed that the recent statements being issued by Harish Rawat are indicative of the ill effect of his age over his thinking. He has lost a sense of balance due to advancing age. Uniyal further stated that he is sorry to claim that Harish Rawat has now turned to speaking blatant lies especially regarding Uttarakhand and national politics. This habit of his has not only led to a steep decline in his personal stature as a mature politician but has also led to the downfall of Congress in Uttarakhand.
Uniyal stated that he had done so in the past and wants to again advise Harish Rawat to retire from active politics and take up Vanaprastha life.
