Tiwari to stay as Uttaranchal CM

In a unexpected twist to the story that Uttaranchal Chief Minister Narayan Dutt Tewari was being sent out of the state on a gubernatorial assignment, the Congress today clarified that nothing of the sort was happening ""that Tewari would stay on as the chief minister.

This clarification came after Tewari met Congress chief Sonia Gandhi earlier in the month and following his meeting, expressed his resolve to take up any office the party wanted him to.

It is the world's worst kept secret that Uttaranchal Congress unit chief Harish Rawat has, for months, been trying to get Tiwari to step down from his post.

In the faction-ridden Uttaranchal Congress, the problem appeared to be a decision on Tiwari's successor. The chief minister has obviously finessed his rivals, for All-India Congress Committee treasurer and in-charge of party affairs of Uttaranchal, Motilal Vora said today that "there was no change".

Vora said ministers and party legislators from the state camping here had been asked to go back and concentrate on their work.

Reports had it that the Congress high command was toying with the idea of change of leadership in Uttaranchal in the wake of the party's dismal performance in the Lok Sabha elections. The Congress won only one of the five seats in the state.

Rawat's frustration stems from the fact that although he has been an influential figure in the Congress for years, he and his supporters have been systematically sidelined and penalised by the Tiwari regime.

Gandhi had to intervene personally and prevent an open revolt some months ago when Rawat and his supporters refused to campaign for the party in the elections. Gandhi is reported to have taken the view that a leader as senior as Tiwari cannot be packed off riding into the sunset.