Haldwani (Uttarakhand) [India], October 5 : Former Uttarakhand Chief Minister and Congress leader Harish Rawat on Monday said the initial objective of his ‘Jan Samvad Yatra’ was to “shake up” the state Congress and indicated that he would now join campaigns and programmes planned by the party organisation, amid a row over his separate outreach ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections.
Speaking to ANI here, Rawat said he had initially planned a 10-phase yatra but suggested that there was little justification for continuing with multiple independent yatras if the Congress organisation came up with its own programmes.
“I have planned a 10-phase Yatra, but I feel that after these Yatras of mine, if the party launches a new campaign, we will all move forward with whatever program the party devises,” Rawat said.
“The initial task was to shake up the Uttarakhand Congress—I have achieved that objective. Now, I don't think there is much justification for those 8-10 Yatras, but I am watching how the party plans its future Yatras, and if the party plans them, we will become a part of that process,” he added.
Rawat said his decision to undertake the outreach was driven by what he described as a lack of direct engagement between the Congress and the public at the grassroots level.
“At this moment, there is no other program running for the Congress party, and I had been noticing for the past several days that we were visiting the Secretariat only regarding the SIR issue and perhaps one or two other matters, but we weren't reaching out to the general public in the streets, neighborhoods, cities, towns, and blocks,” he said.
“So, after a trip lasting two or three days, I realized the necessity and the importance of this. The impact will be visible at the micro-level,” Rawat added.
His remarks came after Congress General Secretary KC Venugopal met him and said that individual campaigns would not be tolerated in Uttarakhand. Venugopal said Congress programmes in the state would be conducted jointly under the leadership of party president Mallikarjun Kharge and Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi.
In a post on X, Venugopal said, “Individual campaigns will not be tolerated by the party, and there must only be collective programs as planned by the party organisation.”
Uttarakhand Congress in-charge Kumari Selja had also written to Rawat on October 1, expressing displeasure over his decision to undertake the yatra without discussing it with the party leadership or Pradesh Congress Committee president.
Despite the objections, Rawat continued with his ‘Jan Samvad Yatra’ from Jaspur to Haldwani on Monday. The yatra was scheduled to pass through Kashipur, Ramnagar and Kaladhungi.
Speaking in Kashipur, Rawat alleged that the state government was “terrified” of his tour and was attempting to prevent it from passing through the area.
"Had I known my tour would have this impact, I wouldn't have included Kashipur in the itinerary at all; we would have started from Ramnagar. Now, the local people are facing inconvenience, and the government is so terrified of our tour that it doesn't want to let us pass through Kashipur,” he said.
“I apologise to all my brothers and sisters in Kashipur; next time, we will come without informing the BJP or officially announcing the schedule, so that we can meet our people,” Rawat added.
Rawat had earlier said the yatra was aimed at bringing Congress back to power and taking forward the fight for the rights of Uttarakhand.