Congress president Sonia Gandhi stepped in on Monday to intervene in a second crisis in Uttarakhand when she met Yashpal Arya, a senior Congress minister in the State, to assuage his feelings: Mr. Arya, who had revolted during the recent political crisis in the hill State, had reportedly threatened to resign from the Cabinet and the party if the decision to nominate former Almora MP Pradeep Tamta to the Rajya Sabha was not revoked.
Simultaneously, Ms. Gandhi’s political secretary Ahmed Patel met beleaguered Chief Minister Harish Rawat, whose authority had been challenged not just by Mr. Arya but also by his ally, the six-member Progressive Democratic Front (PDF), over the party’s choice of candidate for the lone Rajya Sabha seat from Uttarakhand.
Interestingly, Mr. Rawat was accompanied not just by PCC chief Kishore Upadhyay but also by Mr. Arya and two other ministers when he met Mr. Patel.
Later, Mr. Rawat said the problem had been resolved, stressing that there would be only one nominee representing the Congress-PDF government in the fray. “We are very disciplined soldiers. We always abide by the decision of the high command,” he said, adding, “But there may be certain issues, which we take up with the high command or people who matter.”
Earlier, the PDF, upset that it had not been taken into confidence by the Congress, named Minister Dinesh Dhanai as its candidate for election to the Upper House after the Congress nominated Mr. Tamta, a close associate of Mr. Rawat.
Dismissing reports that the PDF — which had backed his government during the recent floor test — was angry that Congress had not conceded its demand for a Rajya Sabha seat, the Chief Minister said, “There is no question of anger. The Congress and the PDF are one.”
