Congress asks Harish Rawat to halt Uttarakhand yatra, Selja writes to him

Factionalism appears to be growing in the Congress in Uttarakhand ahead of the elections. A direct confrontation has begun between Harish Rawat, a former chief minister and former state party president, and the party leadership. Rawat had recently indicated that he was prepared to give up his permanent membership of the state Congress executive and the Congress Working Committee. He then began public outreach and thanksgiving rallies across the state.

The Congress leadership has now directed Rawat to stop the tour immediately. He has also been told not to take any step that could harm the party. Kumari Selja, the party's general secretary, in-charge of Uttarakhand and a former Union minister, has written to Rawat asking him to halt the tour at once. She has also asked him to await instructions and programmes from the party leadership.

In the letter, Selja expressed displeasure over Rawat's yatra. She wrote that she had learnt of the yatra but that neither she nor the president of the state Congress committee had been consulted about it. She also referred to some of Rawat's recent statements, in which he had said the party needed to work in unison with the elections in mind. The party has said that with the elections only months away, no parallel programme will serve the Congress's interests.

Rawat is understood to have declined for now to come to Delhi. He has said he is undertaking the yatra to thank the people for the love and support they have given him over so many years. He has also said he needs only a little time to speak to his supporters before ending the yatra.

After the party directed him not to continue the thanksgiving and public outreach yatra, Rawat on Monday appealed to his supporters to stop it. He also told them to bring about change in the state and return the party to power. The party had asked him to stop the yatra earlier as well.

Rawat is believed to be using the yatra to show his strength to the Congress leadership. Some Congress MLAs from the state also joined the yatra. It began recently in the Haridwar region, from where Rawat has also served as an MP.

It is also said that Rawat had recently been sidelined in the state's politics. He was not being involved in any major decision, and his consent was not sought for programmes held in the state. The reason given is that a Congress leader wants new faces to be brought forward.