Uttarakhand CM resigns after serving barely 4 months
Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat has tendered his resignation to the state Governor Baby Rani Maurya on Friday. Rawat had taken charge in March this year after the resignation of his predecessor, Trivendra Singh Rawat. The development comes ahead of the Legislative Assembly elections in the state next year. Here are more details.
Tirath Rawat had been attending meetings with the BJP leadership in Delhi for the past three days. On Friday afternoon, he was reportedly asked to quit by the party. He submitted his resignation to BJP chief JP Nadda. "Given the constitutional crisis, I felt it was right for me to resign. Bypolls couldn't be held because of COVID-19," he said in a brief statement.
BJP MLAs in Uttarakhand will pick a new head of legislature on Friday, sources told NDTV. They said that Satpal Maharaj and Dhan Singh Rawat are interested. The two were in the running for the position earlier this year but had lost to Rawat.
Rawat took his Chief Ministerial oath on March 10 as his predecessor faced dissent in the party. He would have needed to win an Assembly seat within six months (by September 10) to keep his post as CM and become a member of the state legislature. However, he failed to reduce infighting within the party, disappointing its top leadership.
Since taking charge, Rawat has invited several controversies, including the time he said the United States, not Britain, ruled India for 200 years. He had also made controversial remarks against women wearing ripped jeans. His handling of the Kumbh Mela at the height of the COVID-19 outbreak also invited criticism. Sources told NDTV that the BJP has now decided to cut its losses.
