Earlier on Wednesday, Rawat, the Congress campaign head for poll-bound Uttarakhand, alleged non-cooperation from his party organisation and hinted at calling it quits
Congress leader Harish Rawat. PTI
After Congress leader Harish Rawat created a flutter in political circles with his cryptic tweets expressing disenchantment over party leadership, his former colleague Captain Amarinder Singh retorted saying, “you reap what you sow”.
Singh, who has now formed his own party that has tied up with the BJP for the upcoming polls in Pujab, wished Rawat, a former chief of Uttarakhand, the best for his future endeavours.
“You reap what you sow! All the best for your future endeavours (if there are any),” Amarinder Singh wrote for Harish Rawat, whose stint as the Congress’s Punjab in-charge did not end well for him.
Harish Rawat hints at quitting politics
Earlier on Wednesday, Rawat, the Congress campaign head for poll-bound Uttarakhand, alleged non-cooperation from his party organisation and hinted at calling it quits.
In a series of tweets, the senior leader and the former chief minister of Uttarakhand expressed displeasure over the state of affairs in the party and sought “guidance from God.”
Without naming anyone, Rawat’s remarks seemed to be aimed at the Congress leadership. “The representatives of the leaders on whose directions I have to swim in the sea of elections are tying my hands and legs,” he said.
Though Rawat is close to the Gandhis, he appears to accuse the high command of abandoning him.
“Isn’t it a strange thing. Have to swim across the sea of electoral battle, but the organisational structure instead of lending a helping hand is obstructing and playing a negative role at most places,” Rawat tweeted.
Refering to detractors as “crocodiles in the sea”, the Congress veteran also indicated a possible retirement from politics.
“The powers that be have let loose many crocodiles (predators) in the sea that we have to navigate. Those whom I am supposed to follow, their people have tied my hands and feet. I have been getting the feeling that Harish Rawat, it’s gone too far, you have done enough, it is time to rest,” he said.
He then went on to add: “But a voice from a corner of my heart says I will not run away from challenges”
Stating that he is in a “state of turmoil,” Rawat added, “Hope the New Year shows me the way. I am confident that Lord Kedarnath (Shiva), will show me the way.”
The cryptic tweets by Rawat comes ahead of the Uttarakhand election due early next year.
Until recently, he was also the party’s chief trouble-shooter in Punjab, trying to resolve a dragging Amarinder Singh versus Navjot Singh Sidhu feud.
Not long ago, Rawat also asked to be relieved of his role so he could concentrate on his home state Uttarakhand. Rawat reportedly felt isolated by party leaders in Uttarakhand.
The state goes to Assembly polls early next year and the Congress is trying to return to power in the hilly state.
When senior Congress leader and Rawat’s media advisor Surendra Kumar was asked by reporters about the tweets, he said some forces within the party are playing into the hands of the BJP to hurt the party’s prospects in Uttarakhand.
“There is no alternative to Harish Rawat in Uttarakhand. He is the most popular leader in the state who has kept the party flag flying. But there are some forces playing into the BJP’s hands to mar the possibility of Congress making a comeback in the state,” he said.
Asked whether Rawat remarks had anything to do with All India Congress Committee (AICC) incharge for Uttarakhand Devendra Yadav, Kumar categorically said, “Devendra Yadav is our incharge. His role is that of a Panchayati Pramukh. But if the Panchayati Pramukh begins tying the hands of party workers and hurt the party’s poll prospects, the high command should take notice of it.”
Devendra Yadav and Harish Rawat have been at loggerheads.
While Rawat loyalists have been saying that the 2022 polls are being fought under his leadership, Yadav has been maintaining that it will be contested under a collective leadership.
With inputs from PTI