HEADLINES QUOTE UNQUOTE YEH HAI INDIA PIC OF THE DAY POLL ARCHIVES FEEDBACK SEARCH REDIFF
NEWSLINKS US EDITION NEWS DEAR REDIFF THE STATES ARCHIVES Special Offer To your parents' health
"Sonia faisla wapas lo, Uttarakhand ko nyay do (Sonia withdraw the decision, give Uttarakhand justice)," chanted supporters of Harish Rawat after Congress general secretary Ambika Soni announced that Narain Dutt Tiwari had been chosen to be the chief minister of Uttaranchal.
But Rawat, who arrived late at the press conference to announce Gandhi's decision, silenced them. Speaking to reporters, the crestfallen Uttaranchal Pradesh Congress Committee president said he had a meeting with Gandhi and was wholeheartedly with her decision to appoint Tiwari.
He accused "certain vested interests" of planting a story in newspapers claiming that some 26 MLAs had demanded that he be made chief minister.
But Rawat denied that the report had damaged his chances. "I have been part of the Congress family for long," he argued. "I was with the organisation during the worst period of the separate Uttarakhand movement from 1994-96 when people used to blacken the faces of partymen."
Asked if Gandhi had respected the people's sentiments by nominating Tiwari, Rawat pointed out that the party itself had unanimously authorised her to nominate the CLP leader.
PTI
