Uttarakhand: Harish Rawat concerned about 'acid attack threat' during Parivartan Yatra

Former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat has expressed his concerns about the threat of an acid attack on the Congress's Parivartan Yatra in the state as part of a conspiracy to interrupt the party's campaign for the 2022 Assembly polls. Rawat, who is heading the Uttarakhand Congress poll campaign committee for 2022 had made the allegations via a recent Facebook post. Launching the party's Parivartan Yatra from Khatima town - the home turf of incumbent CM Pushkar Singh Dhami in Uttarakhand, Rawat had said that he had received a 'worrying piece of information' from two sources.

Harish Rawat calls for peace in politics

''Political or ideological rivalry is alright, healthy competition in terms of performance is okay. But if you single out a political rival and instigate some students or motivate them to throw ink laced with acid on them, it would be a blot on the politics of Uttarakhand,'' Rawat said.

''If it does happen, it can be easily guessed which party is behind this,'' Rawat said without naming any party.

However, Rawat who is leading the party's campaign in Uttarakhand remained tight-lipped about party leaders who could be possible targets if such an attack took place.

Former Uttarakhand CM alerts all about 'acid attack' threat 

Rawat, who is also the General Secretary of the All India Congress Committee alerted everyone including the administrative agencies about the threat and said that he prays to Goddess Purnagiri that nothing of that sort happens during the party's poll campaign and that this turns out to be just an apprehension.

The veteran Congress leader said, “My message is to alert everyone, be it our party supporters or the police. It is now the responsibility of the administrative authority to act on the matter. There should be no scope for violence in politics."

Congress kick start Parivartan Yatra

Accompanied by Pradesh Congress President Ganesh Godiyal and Leader of Opposition in Uttarakhand Assembly Pritam Singh, Rawat started the party's Parivartan Yatra by paying homage to the martyrs of the Uttarakhand movement from Khatima in Udham Singh Nagar district last Friday, September 03. The yatra, which has to be carried out in phases, has concluded the first phase at Rudrapur in Udham Singh Nagar district.

(With Inputs from PTI)

(Image Credits: Harishrawatcmuk, PTI, representative image)