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Uttaranchal CM claims
he is on firm ground

Though Uttaranchal Chief Minister Nityanand Swami claims that he is firmly in command of his state, his detractors have not given up their efforts to replace him with a Pahari candidate of their choice.

Swami, who is on a visit Delhi, met Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Thursday morning and is expected to meet other senior Bharatiya Janata Party leaders to enlist their support for his continuance.

What has made things difficult for Swami is his inability to get necessary financial assistance from the Union government for carrying out developmental activities in the state, which came into being on November 1.

Swami's recent decision to ban construction of high rise buildings in the hill state seeing the manner in which sky scrappers collapsed in Ahmedabad during the recent earth quake in Gujarat has angered the powerful builders lobby who were all set to make a killing in the development work that follows the birth of a new state.

The liquor lobby, which enjoys the tacit support of some Uttaranchal ministers, is also campaigning against Swami.

"I don't care about any lobby whether it is the builders' lobby or any other," Swami thunders.

However, comments like these have not helped him in any manner. On the contrary, it has only given his opponents a stick to beat him with.

Union Minister Bhuvan Chander Khanduri figures amongst those in the race for the chief ministership. The other contenders are Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, former maharaja of Tehri Manvendra Shah, Bachhi Singh Rawat, Kedar Singh Phoniya and Bhagat Singh Koshiyari.

Koshiyari had proposed Swami's name when the leadership issue was being decided only at the instance of the BJP's central leadership.

The dissidents have been flogging the issue of declaring Gairsen as the capital of the new state. Swami had announced that a commission would decide the issue.

Swami, who would be completing 100 days in office on February 17, according to his supporters, has the blessings of Prime Minister Vajpayee.

Convenor of the BJP in Uttaranchal Kailash Joshi has also thrown his weight behind Swami.

But the dissidents are not willing to buy this argument. They say that if the BJP were to win the next assembly elections, it would have to be led by a local Pahari leader. So far, the central leadership has not paid heed to this demand.

Swami too denied that there was any move to replace him. "If some hopeful perverse people persist with spreading rumours that I am being replaced I can do nothing about it," Swami told rediff.com.

"I have come to meet Atalji and Advani ji for the distribution of assets between Uttar Pradesh and Uttaranchal and not to canvass for myself. I have the blessings of Prime Minister Vajpayee and Union Home Minister L K Advani. I put forward the request of granting special status to Uttaranchal and the prime minister has assured that the needful would be done shortly," he said.

"The home minister rang up the UP Chief Minister Rajnath Singh in my presence to ask him to settle the issue of distribution of assets. However, Singh was not available at the time," he added.

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