Uttarakhand Political Crisis: Congress Leader Harish Rawat Terms Tirath Singh's Reason For Resigning As 'Big Lie'

Tirath Singh Rawat resigned as Uttarakhand chief minister on Friday. Congress leader Harish Rawat has expressed disbelief over the reason cited for Tirath Singh stepping down from the post. Read on.

Dehradun: Veteran Congress leader Harish Rawat responded to Tirath Singh Rawat's resignation as Uttarakhand Chief Minister by terming the reason given as the "big lie".

Tirath Singh Rawat on Friday resigned from the post citing constitutional compulsion as byelections could not be held in the state due to COVID-19.

"What can be a bigger lie than this that byelections cannot be held in Uttarakhand due to COVID and the chief minister is resigning due to constitutional compulsion. The reality is that byelections have been held before in the same COVID period. The byelection has been held in Salt (an assembly constituency in Uttarakhand). The chief minister could have contested from there also," Harish Rawat stated responding to the development.

"By having resignations of others from anywhere else, he could contest an election from there. But due to the lack of complete knowledge of the law, another Chief Minister will be imposed on the state. In five years, BJP will have given three chief ministers to Uttarakhand," added the former chief minister.

He further stated that "the reason for not making a decision on the question of contesting elections is ridiculous, he (Tirath Rawat) has become a joke. People are saying when our Chief Minister does not have the (required) knowledge as to when he needs to contest elections to reach the assembly, then what welfare can such a person do for us!".

Tirath Singh Rawat resigned as chief minister on Friday.

"I have submitted my resignation to Governor. Given the constitutional crisis, I felt it was right for me to resign. I am thankful to the central leadership and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for every opportunity they have given to me so far," he said elaborating the reason.

Tirath Singh submitted his resignation to Governor Baby Rani Maurya hours after he addressed a press conference.

"Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat submitted his resignation letter from the post of Chief Minister at Raj Bhawan," Maurya confirmed.

Union Minister Narendra Singh Tomar arrived in Dehradun on Saturday to chair a legislature meet at 3 pm to elect the next Chief Minister. "We will consult the MLAs and take a call (on CM) accordingly, " he said upon reaching Bijapur Guest House.

Uttarakhand is undergoing another sudden political upheaval barely four months after Tirath Rawat took over as Chief Minister replacing Trivendra Singh Rawat who had to resign before the BJP government in the state completed 4 years in governance.