Trivendra Rawat's remarks against Uttarakhand government leaves BJP red-faced

A controversy has erupted over senior BJP leader Trivendra Singh Rawat's statements that the party's image was affected by the Pushkar Singh Dhami government's inaction in "some cases" in Uttarakhand.

Rawat, a former BJP chief minister and the sitting MP from Haridwar, expressed concern over the government's functioning during a recent press conference, saying in some cases, police have not registered FIRs even after eight months.

Rawat said the BJP's image should not be affected in any way in the state. Many matters are coming to light that should be seriously considered, and there should be improvement in the government's work, he added without specifying.


He said that the BJP has 47 MLAs and five MPs in Uttarakhand and the trust of the people should be maintained at all costs.

The former chief minister also refuted allegations by Congress leader Harak Singh Rawat, who alleged that he arranged a Rs 30 crore donation, including Rs 1 crore linked to mining, for the BJP while he was a cabinet minister in the Trivendra Rawat government in 2017.

Harak Singh Rawat was in the BJP before but has now switched back to the Congress.

Trivendra Rawat said when he was the CM, the BJP received donations amounting to Rs 27 crore, all through cheques.

About five months ago, too, Trivendra Singh Rawat had put the Dhami government in an uncomfortable position by raising the issue of "unhindered illegal mining in Uttarakhand" in Parliament.

Meanwhile, Uttarakhand Police issued a statement Saturday night that as the chief minister was busy dealing with natural disasters like floods and landslides due to torrential rain, spreading rumours of CM change would invite strong action.

Acting on the complaint by Dehradun district BJP president Siddhartha Agarwal, police registered a case against the operators of three pages on Facebook.

Following Trivendra Rawat's remarks on the Dhami-led Uttarakhand government, another senior BJP leader and former cabinet minister Bishan Singh Chuphal, criticised the CM for appointing "incompetent political leaders" to ministerial posts.

Chuphal, the BJP MLA from Didihat in Pithoragarh district, claimed that "these political leaders" are obstructing his development work in his assembly constituency.

Chuphal confirmed to PTI that he has shared his view of the matter to state BJP president Mahendra Bhatt.

Another BJP MLA from Gadarpur in Udham Singh Nagar district, Arvind Pandey, also claimed that 'mafias' were carrying out "uncontrolled mining" in the rivers in his area, risking flooding in the lower areas.

Bhatt said the party has taken note of the statements made in public by its MLAs and has spoken to all of them about it.

"In the BJP, everyone has been given the right to express their views at the appropriate forum. Every MLA has his own concerns but he can directly talk to the chief minister or tell me as the state president," he said.

Bhatt said he has asked party leaders to express their views only at the appropriate forum and not say anything that confuses the government. "After all, the chief minister is from the party and so are the MLAs," he said.