New Delhi: The Congress has made it clear to Union Minister of State for Agriculture and Parliamentary Affairs Harish Rawat that Tehri Garhwal MP Vijay Bahuguna will be sworn in as Uttarakhand chief minister on Tuesday evening.
Harish Rawat, who is upset after the Congress did not make him the chief minister of Uttarakhand, would stay away from the oath taking ceremony of Bahuguna in Dehradun along with his supporting MLAs.
"There is no change in the decision on the new chief minister of Uttarakhand," Congress spokesperson Janaradhan Dwivedi said.
Bahuguna hoped that the revolt would come to an end soon and there would be no threat to his government.
"I will take oath today. The cabinet expansion will be later. This is a household fight and will be sorted out. Harish Rawatji is a Congress leader. I am sure things will be sorted out within the party. The Congress party is very strong and will not break," said Bahuguna.
Earlier, Congress Sonia Gandhi chaired a meeting of senior party leaders at her residence 10 Janpath in New Delhi following Rawat's revolt and his offer to quit from the Union Cabinet over the question of Uttarakhand chief ministership. The meeting was attended by Uttarakhand Congress leaders Yashpal Arya, Harak Singh Rawat and Congress in-charge of the state, Ghulam Nabi Azad.
The rebellion by Rawat threatened to delay the swearing-in ceremony. Rawat had offered to resign from the Cabinet and wrote a letter to Sonia Gandhi that he would like to work just as an ordinary worker.
Harish Rawat is reportedly in touch with some Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders in Uttarakhand. He also met MLAs loyal to him with sources saying that at least 14 legislators have been backing him.
The BJP, too, made it clear that it was closely watching developments in the Congress camp.
"We are closely watching the developments. It's been almost a week and the chief minister has not been announced. There is no government in the state. These developments clearly show that only the BJP can give a good and stable government," said former Uttarakhand chief minister Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank.
This is the second time that Rawat's claim has been ignored as almost 10 years ago ND Tiwari was made the chief minister at the last moment by the party leadership.
Rawat, representing Hardwar constituency in the Lok Sabha, was a strong contender for the post.
Hailing from Almora in Uttarakhand, Rawat was elected to the Lok Sabha for the first time in 1980. He served as the president of Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee from 2000 to 2002 and is reportedly upset at being overlooked by the party high command. Rawat claims to have the support of at least 17 MLAs in Uttarakhand Assembly.
The Congress managed to win 32 seats in the just concluded Uttarakhand Assembly elections, which has 70 members. The BJP came a close second with 31 seats and the Congress has been invited by the Governor because three independents and three Bahujan Samaj Party MLAs pledged their support to the party.
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