In Uttarakhand, Trivendra Singh Rawat forced to leave Kedarnath after priests' protest

Former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat on Monday faced major heat while he arrived in Kedarnath to offer prayers at the Himalayan temple as several priests expressed anger on his arrival. They showed him black flags and shouted slogans, forcing the ex-CM to return without offering prayers. 

The priests were heard shouting "go back, go back" and "'Trivendra Rawat murdabad" as Rawat was walking towards the temple. After a few minutes, Rawat folded his hands and left as the angry priests continued protesting. They are agitated due to the Chardham Devasthanam Board which was created through legislation during Rawat's tenure as they feel that the board is an infringement of their traditional rights over the temples. 

Later while speaking to the media, Kedarnath teerth purohit Santosh Trivedi said, "We have come to the end of our patience on Devasthanam Board now. We were advised to remain patient at our meeting with Dhami on 11 September and we were following him. But we cannot remain silent anymore."

"We have now decided to launch an aggressive agitation on the issue of Devasthanam board. Not letting Trivendra Singh Rawat visit the temple for darshan was part of it," he added. 

PM Modi to visit Uttarakhand ahead of elections

Meanwhile, after Home Minister Amit Shah, Prime Minister Narendra Modi is expected to visit the state on 5 November. PM Modi will inaugurate several construction projects in Uttarakhand and later offer prayers at the Kedarnath shrine a day after Diwali. Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami talked about the possibility of hosting the Prime Minister, "All arrangements are in place, and with the blessings of Baba Kedarnath, we will accomplish the dream of developing Uttarakhand."

Uttarakhand Assembly polls

In the previous Assembly polls, BJP had won 57 seats in the 70-member state Assembly and Trivendra Singh Rawat was elected Chief Minister. He held the post until 9 March 2021, when the party decided to replace him with Tirath Singh Rawat. However, Tirath's tenure as the CM was short-lived. Shortly, Pushkar Singh Dhami took over the position.

In the upcoming polls, Aam Aadmi Party has announced its plan to fight against the BJP. The Arvind Kejriwal-led party has also announced that its former Uttarakhand unit president SS Kaler will fight against CM Dhami. Kejriwal has also declared that colonel (retired) Ajay Kothiyal will be AAP's chief ministerial candidate. Besides this, Congress is also campaigning aggressively.

Former Uttarakhand CM and Congress leader Harish Rawat recently hinted that he will pull out of the chief ministerial race in the forthcoming polls. Speaking at a Parivartan Yatra, he said that he would like to see a Dalit CM in the state, asserting that they constitute 18% of the population.

(With PTI Inputs)

Image: PTI