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Uttarakhand’s CM Tirath Singh Rawat tendered resignation

Tirath Singh Rawat

Less than six months after taking oath as Uttarakhand’s new chief minister Tirath Singh Rawat has tendered his resignation from his post.

With deadline approaching for by-poll which can be tough to be conducted during ongoing pandemic, especially after the flak received by ECI from judiciary, CM Tirath Rawat offered resignation.

Tirath Singh Rawat wrote a letter to Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) national president JP Nadda wherein he has offered to resign in order to avoid a Constitutional crisis in the state.

Union minister Narendra Singh Tomar was asked by the BJP to go to Dehradun on July 03 as an observer. 

Also Read: Chief Ministers of two states with other leaders await by-election-what is ECI doing?

On March10, Tirath Rawat, an MP from Pauri Garhwal was sworn in as Chief Minister. He had replaced Trivendra Singh Rawat as the CM. As per constitution, he needs to become a member of the state assembly before September 10 to continue in office. Since Uttarakhand does not have a legislative council, direct election remained as the only way through which he could continue in office. Gangotri and Haldwani are the only two vacant seats in the assembly. Gangotri became vacant after BJP MLA Gopal Singh Rawat died. The seat of Haldwani became vacant after the death of leader of opposition Indira Hridayesh.

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There were speculations that Rawat could have been fielded from Gangotri to retain the seat. But, given the Covid19 situation, the election commission of India may not conduct a by-poll. The poll body has faced caustic criticism from judiciary, especially the Madras High Court with regards to mishandling the election in the time of pandemic. This may have been behind the decision to not announce by-polls for Uttarakhand.

Election commission of India is mandated by section 151A of the Representation of People’s Act, 1951 to fill up the vacancies in the parliament and the state legislatures through bypolls. The bypolls need to be conducted within six months of the occurrence of the vacancies, given that the remaining term of the new member is one year or more.

The Article 164 (4) of the Constitution reads, “A minister who for any period of six consecutive months is not a member of the legislature of the state shall at the expiration of that period cease to be a minister.”

This condition applies to Tirath Rawat too, since chief minister is also a minister.

If he was not elected to the legislative assembly by September 10, Uttarakhand would have stared at a constitutional crisis.

It has been asserted by sources that the criticism faced by the election commission was behind the poll body not yet deciding on the dates of the by-polls.

Also Read: A peek into by-polls in India-Can there be a way around them?

MS Chauhan, BJP MLA from Vikasnagar and former spokesperson of the party’s state unit stated, “It is within the scope and ambit of the election commission to take a call on whether or not to hold a bypoll in the state. Everything depends on the election commission of India.”

The centre is also not pushing much for the by-polls as there are other states where by-polls need to be conducted and BJP-ruled Uttarakhand cannot be made an exception.

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Chief Minister of Uttarakhand called for meetings in New Delhi

Tirath Singh Rawat

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat was called to New Delhi for a meeting with BJP high command and other leaders. This development has rung bells in the political corridors of the state. The CM was called to Delhi by BJP high command and he was expected to reach the Uttarakhand house in the national capital by around 1 pm. CM Rawat replaced Trivendra Singh Rawat as the CM in March this year over dissatisfaction by party MLAs against the latter. He has mostly made news for his infamous comments like didactic over attire of sanskari girls & ripped jeans. His comment of ‘America enslaved India’ had made him the centre of jokes and trolls.

Also Read: Major setback to BJP in north Bengal: Ganga Prasad with 7 other leaders switched to TMC

Rawat’s visit has formed cradle for birth of political speculations. This is because, in the state, he had a busy schedule for today. He was expected to launch several programmes relating to the ministry of his cabinet minister Rekha Arya. Apart from that the BJP in Uttarakhand has just concluded a three-day event. It was to chart out the party’s strategy for the 2022 assembly polls. The programme was termed as Chintan Shivir. It was held in Ramnagar, Nainital. Despite the aspersions and concerns within the party, there was no indication of any resentment against Tirath Rawat in the ‘Chintan Shivir’.

Also Read: Results of Covid19 crisis, O2-deficit, & West Bengal election defeat- Denigration & rift within BJP

Sources indicated that the BJP high command planned to discuss the outcome of the three-day political meeting in Uttarakhand. The party also premeditated to discuss further about the party’s planning for the assembly polls in the state next year. Tirath Rawat was expected to meet the top BJP leaders including party chief JP Nadda and Home Minister Amit Shah. The meetings can be held today or tomorrow.

As Rawat was inducted as the Chief Minister without being an MLA, he is also looking towards his election to the Uttarakhand Assembly before September 9. When he was made the state’s Chief Minister on March 9, he was a Lok Sabha MP from Garhwal constituency in Uttarakhand. To continue as chief minister, he must be elected to the assembly within six months through by-elections. Like him, West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee is also looking for her by-election. Tirath Rawat has not clarified his constituency from where he will contest. He has said that the party high command will take the final call on it.

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In view of Char Dham Yatra, Rawat government in Uttarakhand gave guidelines for vaccination

Chardham-Yatra

Before the opening of the Char Dham Yatra, Uttarakhand chief minister Tirath Singh Rawat directed the administration of additional doses of vaccines against coronavirus disease (Covid-19). These doses are intended for all the individuals related to the journey that is set to begin for the residents of three districts of the state, Uttarkashi, Chamoli, and Rudraprayag. Additionally, Covid-19 vaccines have also been allotted for residents in the districts of Tehri and Pauri. Since these places are situated on the way of the Char Dham Yatra, they have been allotted the additional vaccines as well.

A total of 5,000 additional doses each have been provided to the aforementioned districts, following the order. But, the district of Uttarkashi received 10,000 additional doses of the vaccine against coronavirus disease.

Also Read: Two cases why Trivendra Singh Rawat had to leave CM-ship to Tirath

Char Dham Yatra, meaning the pilgrimage of four abodes, is a journey to a set of four ancient pilgrimage sites across India. The one in the state of Uttarakhand consists of a smaller circuit but is equally sacred to many Hindus, who believe in making the yatra at least once in a lifetime. Kedarnath, Badrinath, Gangotri, and Yamunotri form the Uttarakhand Char Dham Yatra circuit .This circuit is usually closed during winters and reopens for summers. This time, things had to be readjusted according to schedule in view of the Covid-19 pandemic.

Also Read: Around 2400 policemen in Uttarakhand tested Covid-positive in second wave; is there a link with Kumbh?

Uttarakhand chief minister Tirath Singh Rawat has instructed to vaccinate all the people who will be in direct contact with pilgrims of the Char Dham Yatra before its commencement. The instruction has been given to ensure the safety of both the locals and the visitors.

The state government has issued guidelines to the concerned officials to vaccinate the priests, shopkeepers, dhaba operators, local residents, mule operators, cab drivers, and others associated with the Char Dham Yatra timely.

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Two cases why Trivendra Singh Rawat had to leave CM-ship to Tirath

Tirath_Singh Rawat

BJP MP Tirath Singh Rawat will be the new chief minister of Uttarakhand. He replaces Trivendra Singh Rawat, who stepped down from the CM’s post on Tuesday after completing nearly 4 years in office. A year ahead of assembly elections in the state, Trivendra Singh was asked by the BJP to step down after a section of party MLAs objected to his style of functioning. The name of Tirath Singh Rawat, who represents Pauri Garhwal in Lok Sabha, was announced after a meeting of the BJP legislative body held in the morning. Senior BJP leaders Raman Singh and Union HRD minister Ramesh Pokhriyal ‘Nishank’ flew down to Dehradun for the meeting. Following the party norms, former CM Trivendra singh Rawat proposed the name of Tirath for the post of CM and it was supported by all the party MLAs and MPs, who were present. The swearing in ceremony for Tirath Singh Rawat has been scheduled for 4 pm today at Raj Bhavan.

Modi and Amit Shah are known to back the chief ministers appointed by them staunchly even in the face of resentment by respective Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) State units, pressure from the public opinion, and even from the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). The case of former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat, who was asked to quit by party chief J.P. Nadda on Tuesday is peculiar in certain ways.

Char Dham Devasthanam Management Bill and the setting up of the Gairsain Commissionerate are the two main decisions which had been headaches for the BJP state unit in Uttarakhand, which is considered to be the reason of departure of Trivendra Singh Rawat.

The CDD Management Bill brought 51 shrines, including Badrinath, Kedarnath, Yamunotri and Gangotri, under the control of the State government, with a limited role for those managing the affairs of these shrines till now. Adding districts to the new Gairsain Commissionerate from both Garhwal and Kumaon areas was another trigger point. Garhwal has traditionally gone with the BJP while Kumaon has been tricky for the party, but the addition of the sub-division of Badrinath and Kedarnath from Garhwal to the commissionerate meant that even this stronghold would possibly fall in the coming elections in February. State leaders alleged that no one was consulted before these decisions whereas party leaders were left holding the can of public resentment and political backlash.

Soon after being named the new CM, Tirath said, “I started my career as a RSS member and was not aware of the political scene. In 1985, I met former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee and under his leadership moved ahead in the field of politics.”

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Tirath Singh Rawat to be Uttarakhand’s new CM. Know more about him

Tirath Singh Rawat

Tirath Singh Rawat will take over as the new Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, after Trivendra Singh Rawat resigned from the CM’s post on Tuesday.

56-year-old Tirath Singh Rawat is a BJP MP from the Pauri constituency. He was the chief of the party in Uttarakhand in 2013-15 and also an MLA from the state in the past.

He will be sworn 4pm today at Raj Bhavan.

In the early days of his political career, Rawat was part of the Uttar Pradesh Bharatiya Janata YuvaMorcha, the BJP’s youth wing, where he served as the state vice-president for some time before being elected to the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council in 1997.

A close aide of general BC Khanduri, Teerath Singh Rawat is an old RSS and ABVP hand who has been in BJP for over three decades.

When the state of Uttarakhand was formed in 2000, Tirath Singh Rawat became its first education minister.

He was elected in 2012 as an MLA from the Chaubatakhal assembly constituency in his birthplace of Pauri Garhwal. He continued to serve as the Chaubatakhal MLA till 2017.

In 2019, Tirath Singh Rawat became an MP by defeating his rival Manish Khanduri by over 3.50 lakh votes from the Garhwal Lok Sabha seat.