Justice has prevailed, HC upheld rule of law, says Anand Rawat

Ajay Ramola

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Tribune News Service

Mussoorie, April 21

Congress workers feel the party has emerged victorious following the Uttarakhand High Court order to setting aside President’s rule in the state.

The one among the happiest persons in the Congress is none other than young state Congress general secretary Anand Rawat, son of reinstated Chief Minister Harish Rawat. The Tribune caught up with Anand Rawat and sought his views on the whole crisis and the future course of action for his father’s government now.

You have been working hard behind the scene, interacting with lawyers both at Delhi and the Uttarakhand High Court. Do you see the high court decision as your victory?

I am elated at the Uttarakhand High Court decision. But I see it as the victory of the people of the state and democracy at large. Justice has prevailed as we have been hoping after the political crisis that the BJP created with the help of the nine rebel MLAs. The rebels’ ambitions had soared in contrast to the aspirations of the people of the state. We welcome the decision of the high court to set aside President’s rule. We salute the judiciary for supporting truth and justice by giving the decision that vindicated Harish Rawat’s stand. It showed the whole political drama was part of a conspiracy hatched by the BJP along with the nine rebel Congress leaders.

Do you think that the nine Congress rebels, who have been disqualified, should be given a chance to come back to the Congress fold if they seek an apology?

Well, to the best of my knowledge the party high command thinks that the door should be shut for such rebels in the party. However, I am not the last word in the decision and we should leave it to the party high command. In my view what these rebels have done is criminal in the eyes of democracy and they should be disbarred from contesting any elections in future. They have been proven guilty in the high court. The criminal procedure should be started against the BJP as it has also misused Article 356 contrary to the law laid down by the Supreme Court.

Who do you think were behind the conspiracy to topple the Congress government in the state and why?

The presence of senior BJP leaders such as Kailash Vijayverghey, Satpal Maharaj and others in Dehradun on the day the Appropriation Bill was placed on the table of the Assembly in Dehradun is indicates that the BJP was behind the conspiracy. The BJP was frustrated with the people-centric policies implemented by Harish Rawat since he took over charge from Vijay Bahuguna two years ago. Out of two years Harish Rawat has been in power, one has been lost in various elections. My father introduced people-friendly policies, namely promotion of local food such as Koda and Jhangora, introduced Indira Amma Canteen to empower farmers and motivate them to grow local food items, water bonus, conserving Chal and Khal for water conservation, increased pension for the needy, including traditional drummers, taking senior citizens on the Char Dham Yatra, created clusters of agriculture and announced bonus in the animal husbandry sector. The BJP did not like all these policies and hence conspired against the government. The Harish Rawat government had succeeded in shaking the political ground of the BJP by taking up issues dear to it, namely cow and Ganga by promoting milk cooperatives and ensuring implementation of cleaning Ganga programme.

Many feel that Harish Rawat was dictatorial in his attitude and that is the reason many Congress rebels sided with the BJP.

Baseless! On the contrary, Harish Rawat called Cabinet meetings and took decisions after consulting other ministers on all policy matters. He succeeded in making a direct contact with people and that might have been seen otherwise. But the Chief Minister’s intention was pretty clear to reach out to more people and resolve their pending issues on priority. Harish Rawat showed farsightedness and started the Chal Khal, Harela Ghee Sangrand campaign to preserve water resources, culture, traditions and nature, thus bringing unity at the social level too.

Do you think Ranjit Rawat’s interference in the day-to-day working of the government was also one of the reasons for rebellion by the rebel MLAs?

No, I do not think so. Chief Minister Harish Rawat has been in politics long enough and cannot be overshadowed by anyone, including his relatives or even by me. Ranjit Rawat is a seasoned politician. He has been elected twice to the Assembly. Hence he is an important member of the team. But to say that due to his attitude, Harish Rawat’s image suffered is not true. Harish Rawat’s doors were open for everyone and that was one reason he was working from the Bijapur guesthouse and not from his official residence. To say that Ranjit Rawat had gained a political clout and people had to go through him first to reach the Chief Minister is totally false. Ranjit Rawat has worked in the capacity of industrial adviser and never crossed his limits. He is being used to target Harish Rawat.

The BJP has been condemning Harish Rawat on the issue sof mining, liquor and Hito pahad campaign.

Well, on the issue of liquor contracts it was Harish Rawat who broke the syndicate of one company or individual. He brought a semblance of equity in the industry by asking the Mandi Parishad to distribute liquor. It’s this lobby that in connivance with the BJP was attacking the Congress government for its own vested interests.

Do you think Vijay Bahuguna was wrong in siding with the rebels?

It is sad the way an individual, who has a rich legacy of HN Bahuguna and judicial background, should indulge in such an act. The Congress brought him into the party and elevated him to the post of Chief Minister, sidelining many senior leaders. His son Saket Bahuguna was inducted into the Congress much later than I became a member. I joined the Congress in 1996 but still Saket was given the Lok Sabha ticket from Tehri Garhwal. But still he sided with the BJP instead of advising his father against such a move. Vijay Bahuguna should have strengthened the roots of the Congress but he instead worked to harm it.

Are there any differences in your family over the issue of who would control politics in Haridwar?

No there are no conflicts. My mother has always been a reluctant politician and I am happy to work for the party organisation at the grass-roots level. I worked my way up in a party through hard work like any other politician and contested elections for the post of the president of the Youth Congress. I have worked as a party worker during the Kedarnath disaster and also in Uttarkashi. We do not have high political ambitions and only want to work for people.

Due you think your father has been unable to tame the bureaucracy that sometimes has gone overbroad overriding even his decisions?

Well, the bureaucracy works properly when there is the government is stable. Most of development works in the state was in the period of ND Tiwari when there was a stable government and my father was working on the similar lines. Taking PDF legislators along was his way of working for stability and that decision despite opposition in the party paid a rich dividend.

Q. Do you think that your father has emerged stronger after this victory in court?

I think people have won and my father would take solace in that. Whenever such challenges have cropped up in the past my father has emerged stronger. Hence, this crisis for him is like a learning curve that has made him mentally stronger.

What is the priority that the Congress government looking forward?

I believe that the policy of providing jobs will continue in future too. Around 30,000 jobs have been opened and several lakhs of youths have applied for these. Water bonus, Harela and other campaigns will be taken forward, I believe. Women empowerment is another issue that is dear to Harish Rawat.