Congress on Wednesday ruled out differences within its ranks on the party's decision to appoint Vijay Bahuguna as chief minister of Uttarakhand and said there is "no revolt" on the issue and the government in the hill state will function normally.
Admitting that there are "minor issues", Congress spokesperson Rashid Alvi said it is not mandatory for all the MLAs to be present during the swearing in of a chief minister.
"There is no revolt or a big problem there which is being hyped there by media... I can assure you that everything is normal in the party. Vijay Bahuguna is chief minister of Uttarakhand and his government will function normally," Alvi told reporters outside Parliament.
He was asked whether everything is normal with the party in Dehradun.
"There is no difference in the party and this is an internal matter of the party. It is not mandatory for all the MLAs to be present during the swearing in of a chief minister," he said.
Blaming media for creating hype over the issue, he said, "This is being hyped by media. There are minor issues that happen in a party and all these issues can be sorted out mutually. There is nothing to worry in it."
When asked why Harish Rawat -- who had expressed his displeasure after being sidelined by the party leadership for the post of chief ministership of the state -- is not attending the budget session of Parliament, Alvi said, "He must be busy with something. He will come to Parliament soon."
On the Lokpal Bill, Alvi said, "Both Congress and the government are committed on the issue of getting Lokpal cleared in the Parliament. In Rajya Sabha, our commitment is that in the first part of the session by March 30, the Lokpal issue will be listed."
"We do not have majority in Rajya Sabha but we will try to get it cleared in the first part of the budget session," he added.
He denied reports that UPA allies were not present during the dinner hosted last night. "All allies were represented at the meeting," he said.
