Stories
Why Harish Rawat is refusing to bow down: Understanding Uttarakhand Congress's internal feud
- •Senior Congress leader Harish Rawat is facing opposition from his own party regarding his Thanksgiving Yatra in Uttarakhand.
- •Rawat is heading to Delhi to meet central leaders like Kumari Selja and K.C. Venugopal, refusing to yield to high command warnings.
- •The core dispute revolves around independent MLA Umesh Kumar, who conducted an undercover sting operation against Rawat in 2016.
- •Rawat strongly opposes the growing proximity between certain Congress factions and Umesh Kumar, especially as Rawat eyes the Khanpur seat.
- •Viral social media posts and photos featuring Umesh Kumar and party in-charge Kumari Selja have further intensified the political uproar.
Key Questions Answered
Senior Congress leader Harish Rawat is holding his Dhanyawad Yatra across districts like Haridwar, Nainital, and Udham Singh Nagar. The yatra has sparked internal friction and a warning from the high command because Rawat is openly opposing the potential entry of independent MLA Umesh Kumar—who conducted a 2016 undercover operation against Rawat—into the Congress party.
Independent MLA Umesh Kumar is at the center of the Congress internal friction because a faction of party leaders from AICC to PCC wants to grant him entry. Harish Rawat strongly opposes this due to Umesh's past role in conducting an undercover operation in 2016 that toppled Rawat's government and kept Congress out of power in Uttarakhand for 10 years.
Harish Rawat offered to resign from his organizational positions, specifically as a member of the Pradesh Congress Committee and the AICC Working Committee. He stated he would take this proposal to the central leadership to ensure that the Enforcement Directorate's actions involving his aide, Chandan Singh Jeena, do not disrupt the party's narrative against corruption.
