The Congress has virtually ruled out a change of guard in Uttarakhand at least for the time being contrary to the speculation that the chief minister Vijay Bahuguna could be replaced before the upcoming Lok Sabha polls.
Responding to questions about the fate of Mr Bahuguna, the Congress spokesperson P.C. Chacko suggested how can the party shift the chief minister after handling the worst calamity of this century.
“After handling the worst crisis of this century most effectively do we change a CM for that?,” he asked .
“Who has thought of changing the CM of Uttarakhand, Who will be there tomorrow, I do not predict anything. There is nothing on the agenda like that. What will happen tomorrow, I cannot say. It is not being discussed,” he said.
There have been intense speculation about the probable shifting of Mr Bahuguna, who had faced Opposition ire over alleged mishandling of the devastating flash floods at Kedarnath.
Mr Chacko rather praised Mr Bahuguna for “most efficiently” handling the “worst tragedy due to floods” asking, “Do you change the chief minister for that?”
On whether he was ruling out change of guard in the hill state, Mr Chacko said, “How can I do that? I am not going to predict who will be there tomorrow...As of now there is nothing like that on the agenda.”
A section of Congress in the state led by Union minister Harish Rawat had earlier strongly opposed to Mr Bahuguna’s appointment as chief minister of the state.