Even on a day that marks the birth anniversary of legendary Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna, the mutual vituperative spree involving the two ex-CMs-Harish Rawat and Vijay Bahuguna-has not abated a bit. They rather used the occasion to put scorn over each other with renewed vigour on Monday.
Bahuguna alleged that Harish Rawat was hunger for power incarnate while Harish Rawat dubbed his arch-rival as an unscrupulous opportunist adept in back-stabbing the party that nurtured him for years. Even another of the rebel Congress MlAs Harak Singh Rawat chipped in, tearing into Harish Rawat, asking him to answer why he had tolerated a ‘corrupt’ minister like him for such a long time.
Bahuguna said that with a person like Harish Rawat being saddled in power, even his father Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna would have faced the same ordeal he had faced. “It is crystal clear after the alacrity with which he grabbed the CM’s chair immediately after High Court pronounced its verbal judgment that he can stoop to any low to cling to power,” he said in an acerbic attack.
Harak Singh Rawat echoed Bahuguna, saying that Rawat is bereft of any scruples. “The fact that I was in his cabinet for such a long time despite me being neck-deep in corruption proves that he is the weakest CM the State has ever had. Does it mean he can ignore anything to remain in powerIJ” he asked.
Although Harish Rawat declined to comment on what Harak Singh Rawat said, rebuking him as lacking spunk to drive him out for being corrupted, PCC president Kishore Upadhyaya said his party did not want to stoop the filthy low the rebel MlAs could do. “We kept things under cover to spare him the humiliation. If we now disclose things he would hardly get a place to hide his face in,” he said.