I have played my inning: Harish Rawat
Dehradun:Amid indications that he may quit politics, former Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat, who recently resigned as General Secretary of the Congress, on Sunday said he has played his inning and would decide his next course of action after meeting party leader Rahul Gandhi.
“I have played my inning. But I will decide my next course of action after meeting Rahul Gandhi,” Rawat said after touring the length and breadth of the hill state in the past one week.
On July 3, Rawat had stated on social media that he had resigned as Congress General Secretary, owningv responsibility for the party’s defeat in the Lok Sabha elections in Assam where he was the in-charge of party affairs.
“I have felt my weakness and resigned as general secretary,” Rawat had tweeted.
In different recent interviews to the local media Rawat has said that he wants to spend time with his family and friends.
When asked, however, whether he wants to quit politics, Rawat made it clear that he would like to continue to serve the Congress party.
“I have worked for Congress tirelessly. I can say that I don’t work only when I am sleeping,” he said.
Rawat also said he is touring parts of the country to understand what went wrong in the elections as far as Congress was concerned.
“Since election results, I have toured many states such as Assam, Karnataka, Himachal Pradesh, Tamil Nadu. I want to understand what went wrong for us”.
There is no need for any post for people like him to be able to work dedicatedly for the party, Rawat said.
He also said a that leader should have the qualities to inspire workers mand only Rahul Gandhi possesses such inspirational qualities.
“In case the reins of Congress remain in the hands of Rahul Gandhi, we can change the situation in 2022 when elections will be held in some states,” he said.
According to him, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) can be defeated in the 2024 general elections. For this purpose, democratic elements and party workers want to see Rahul Gandhi as the Congress President, he added.
Significantly, Rawat had made such statement in the past also in a section of media but it was not independently verified.