At Hemwati feet, son Vijay, ex-CM Rawat trade barbs

DEHRADUN: The function to mark the birth anniversary of Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna on Monday saw a rather piquant turn of events. Vijay Bahuguna, Hemwati's son, who turned up first to garland the statue of his father at Clock Tower, asserted that "had the appropriation bill been defeated in the floor of the House in my father's tenure, he would have stepped down.But Harish Rawat did not do so." Later, after he had exited the venue, Rawat also turned up to garland the statue and asserted that Vijay Bahuguna should take "inspiration and lessons from his father and keep away from dubious deeds”.
Rawat and Congress state chief Kishore Upadhyay arrived almost 30 minutes after Vijay Bahuguna’s departure, evidently taking care to ensure that their paths didn’t cross. Interestingly, a number of rebel leaders like Harak Singh Rawat, Umesh Sharma ‘Kau’, Pradeep Batra and Subodh Uniyal were also at the venue (MDDA shopping complex) to pay tributes to the former CM of Uttar Pradesh on his 97th birth anniversary.
Vijay Bahuguna used the opportunity to launch a scathing attack on Rawat. “He is greedy for power, and wants to stick to the CM’s chair. Had the appropriation bill been defeated in my father’s tenure, he would not have returned home but first gone to the governor house to hand over his resignation. A similar behaviour was expected from Rawat too.” On the current political uncertainty in the state, Bahuguna said that he was “in favour of elections, so that people can themselves elect their representatives.” In a similar vein, Umesh Sharma claimed that the names of nine rebels would “go down in history for saving the people and state from rampant corruption.” He said, “All of us decided to raise a voice, therefore we have opposed Rawat in the state.”
Meanwhile, Kishore Upadhyay said Hemwati Nandan was “a perfect example of communal harmony.” The state Congress chief rendered an oath to the assembled party members to “save the country and state from people and political outfits trying to create differences among them” in what was clearly a reference to the rebels. In a more direct attack, Upadhyay said, “It is the role of each of us to strengthen the party. Vijay Bahuguna has repeatedly targeted the Congress government and by being involved in such acts, he has made his intentions clear. He was given a ticket for the Lok Sabha elections, he was made the CM, and his son was also given ticket for the Lok Sabha polls. What more he expects, is simply beyond our logic.”