Bahuguna's appointment as U' khand CM sparks row, Congress says 'all is well'

New Delhi/Dehradun, Mar 14 (ANI): Congress Party on Wednesday defended its decision to select Vijay Bahuguna as Uttarakhand Chief Minister instead of senior leader Harish Rawat, saying there is no difference within the party and the matter will be solved after due consultations.

Terming the ongoing row over the appointment of Bahuguna as hype created by the media, Congress spokesperson Rashid Alvi said: "There is no difference within the party of any kind. This is an internal matter of the party. It is not necessary for the MLAs to be present there. It never happens that all the MLAs are present during the swearing-in-ceremony of the chief minister. This is media hype. The matter will be solved after due consultations within the party.

"I assure you everything will be normal. Vijay Bahugunaji is the new chief minister of Uttarakhand, he has taken the oath of office. The party is committed to solve the problems the people of the state faced in the last five years," he added.

Alvi further said Harish Rawat will surely attend the Parliament session.

"There is no rebellion within the party. This is media hype. He (Harish Rawat) will surely come to the Parliament," he said.

Meanwhile, Rawat, the Congress MP from Haridwar and Minister in the union Government, appeared to be deeply hurt for not being given the top post in Uttarakhand, and said that he always believed in the party.

"I would not say anything. Party is also important and I always believed in the party. It's been so many years since I'm working for Congress," said Rawat.

Harish Rawat, who was seen as a frontrunner for the Uttarakhand chief minister's post, had earlier offered to resign from the cabinet following Bahuguna's selection for the top post.

According to reports, Rawat sent his resignation to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. He had also written to Congress President Sonia Gandhi, saying that he would prefer to work as a party worker.

In the 70-member Assembly, Congress had emerged as the largest party with 32 MLAs and has the support of three independent MLAs and one from UKD. The Bahujan Samaj Party, having strength of three members, has pledged its unconditional support to Congress, raising its tally to 39. (ANI)