The short tenure of Tirath Singh Rawat, who resigned as the chief minister of Uttarakhand, making way for Pushkar Singh Dhami as his successor was marred by controversial remarks a poor handling of the Covid-19 situation during the Mahakumbh festival, according to political experts.
Rawat triggered controversies with his critical views on women’s clothing and by saying that the waters of the Ganga could prevent Covid-19 infections. He also initially spoke about allowing Mahakumbh in Haridwar without any restrictions.
About 9.1 million people took the holy dip – at least six million of them in April, coinciding with the peak of the second wave – and officials in many other north Indian states traced local infection surges to Kumbh returnees. The Uttarakhand high court sharply criticised the government for green-lighting the event.
SMA Kazmi, a Dehradun-based political analyst, said Rawat was targeted on the management of the Mahakumbh – he initially said that people could attend the event without any Covid-19 test. “The Mahakumbh Covid-19 testing scam has been a big embarrassment for the government,” he said. The various controversial statements he made also created trouble, he added.
Allegations of fake testing surfaced in Haridwar after a Faridkot resident complained to the authorities that he received a message for collecting his Covid-19 report despite never having been tested. The complaint triggered a probe that unearthed roughly 100,000 fake rapid antigen tests.
{{/usCountry}}Allegations of fake testing surfaced in Haridwar after a Faridkot resident complained to the authorities that he received a message for collecting his Covid-19 report despite never having been tested. The complaint triggered a probe that unearthed roughly 100,000 fake rapid antigen tests.
{{/usCountry}}Rawat has said the irregularities occurred before his tenure, prompting a sharp denial from Trivendra Rawat. Tirath Singh Rawat and his predecessor were engaged in a war of words, with Trivendra Singh Rawat demanding a judicial probe into the fake testing scam.
Since the creation of Uttarakhand in 2000, only one chief minister, the Congress’s ND Tiwari, has completed their full tenure in the state.
“The opposition Congress will again get an opportunity to hit the government and it will try to portray the developments as growing political instability of the government and a betrayal of the people,” Kazmi said.
Suryakant Dhasmana, Congress state vice-president, said the BJP has made a mockery of politics in the state by bringing in three CMs. “People feel betrayed and they can clearly see there is no political stability in the state. With such instability and infighting, can they provide any relief or succor to people here? They are themselves in crisis,” he said.
Devendra Bhasin, state BJP spokesperson however said in BJP, they believe in working collectively and facing all challenges collectively. “Tirath Singh Rawat was brought as CM and he did what party wanted him to do according to our vision document. The new CM will also work as per the party’s vision”