Godiyal resigns from PCC chief’s post, Rawat seeks his own expulsion following serious allegations

Wednesday, 16 March 2022 | PNS | Dehradun

Taking the moral responsibility for the performance of the Congress party in the recently concluded Assembly elections in Uttarakhand, the Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Ganesh Godiyal tendered his resignation from the post. His resignation came soon after the Congress president Sonia Gandhi asked for the resignations of PCC presidents of Uttarakhand, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Goa and Manipur. The PCC presidents had been asked to put in their resignations in order to facilitate the reorganisations of the Congress units in these states. Meanwhile, the allegations and counter allegations among senior Congress leaders in Uttarakhand continued on Tuesday with its senior leader Harish Rawat stating that considering the allegations leveled against him by a working president of the party’s state unit, the Congress should expel him (Rawat) from the party.Godiyal said that he wanted to resign from the post of PCC president on the day the Assembly election results were declared. However, he was waiting for instructions from the party’s high command. On reaching Delhi, when he came to know that the PCC chiefs of states where the party had lost in the recent Assembly elections were tendering their resignations, he too submitted his resignation on Tuesday. Godiyal said that he will continue to struggle as a Congress worker. Though the resignation of the PCC president was among the changes expected after the party’s performance in the state, the Congress has other problems awaiting resolution in the state. The round of allegations and counter-allegations which intensified a few days ago with senior party leader Harish Rawat stating that he had contested reluctantly from the Lalkuan Assembly constituency continued on Tuesday with Rawat stating that considering the serious allegations leveled upon him by a working president of the party in Uttarakhand, the party should expel him (Rawat). It will be recalled that a day after Rawat said that he had contested unwilling from Lalkuan constituency on the directions of the party, the Congress candidate form Salt and working president of the party in Uttarakhand, Ranjit Rawat alleged that Harish Rawat’s managers had taken money in return for party tickets from various persons. On Tuesday, Harish Rawat said, “The allegation of selling posts and party tickets is very serious. If the allegation is being leveled on a person who has been the chief minister, was the party’s State chief and is a Congress Working Committee member with the person leveling the allegations also on a responsible post, and those allegations are being spread further by a person on a responsible post and his supporters, such allegations become all the more serious. This allegation has been leveled upon me and I pray to god that taking cognisance of this allegation, the Congress should expel me from the party. Holi is an appropriate festival for destroying the bad and on this occasion, the bad aspects in the form of Harish Rawat should also be consigned to Holika Dahan,” said Rawat.