Former Chief Minister and senior Congress leader Harish Rawat’s trademark mango party elicited considerable focus on Sunday with Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat also attending it. On the other hand, the Pradesh Congress Committee president Pritam Singh and leader of opposition Indira Hridayesh were conspicuous by their absence.
The former CM has stressed that the intention of the event was not political at all as it was aimed like such events held in the past, to popularise the traditional dishes of the State based on regional produce like Pahadi cucumber, radish and mango among others.
The former Chief Minister once again elicited focus of the social and political circles in Dehradun on Sunday. At a wedding point on East Canal Road, the senior Congress leader hosted a feast of mangoes, Pahadi cucumbers and radishes among other fruits seasoned with traditional salt and spices as popular in the mountainous regions of the State. The Pradesh Congress Committee president Pritam Singh and party leaders considered close to him were absent on the occasion though other party leaders including the former PCC president Kishore Upadhyay and non-political personalities including folk singers Narendra Singh Negi and Pritam Bhartwan among others were also present on the occasion. The feast which began in the after was nearing its end when the Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat arrived.
Refraining from making any political comments, the Chief Minister said that preserving and popularising the culture of Uttarakhand and its traditional, nutritious and tasty dishes was a collective responsibility.
The CM was also seen sharing light moments with the former CM though politically the former CM continues to strongly criticise the State Government on various fronts. The former Chief Minister himself cleaned and offered a mango to the current Chief Minister apart from offering him slices of Pahadi cucumber seasoned with traditional Pahadi salt and spice. The Chief Minister said that his visit to the event hosted by the former CM was nothing surprising. It was an apolitical occasion and his visit could also be seen as a reciprocation to the former CM’s visit to the Holi Milan gathering.
Meanwhile, the former CM expressed gratitude to all including leaders of other political parties like the Samajwadi Party and Uttarakhand Kranti Dal for attending the event.