Harish Rawat is former chief minister of Uttarakhand (File photo)
Veteran Congress leader Harish Rawat on Friday said Tirath Singh Rawat's resignation as Uttarakhand Chief Minister due to constitutional compulsion and byelections cannot be held in the state due to COVID is the biggest lie.
"What can be a bigger lie than this that byelections cannot be held in Uttarakhand due to COVID and the chief minister is resigning due to constitutional compulsion. The reality is that byelections have been held before in the same COVID period. The byelection has been held in Salt (an assembly constituency in Uttarakhand). The chief minister could have contested from there also," tweeted Mr Rawat.
"By making resignations of others from anywhere else, he could contest elections from there. But due to the lack of complete knowledge of the law, another Chief Minister has been imposed on the state. In five years, BJP is giving three chief ministers to Uttarakhand," added the former chief minister of Uttarakhand.
Tirath Singh Rawat resigned as chief minister of Uttarakhand on Friday.
"I have submitted my resignation to Governor. Given the constitutional crisis, I felt it was right for me to resign. I am thankful to the central leadership and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for every opportunity they have given to me so far," Tirath Rawat told reporters.
He submitted his resignation to Governor Baby Rani Maurya hours after he addressed a press conference.
"Uttarakhand Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat submitted his resignation letter from the post of Chief Minister at Raj Bhawan," Ms Maurya soon after his resignation.
The resignation came less than four months after Tirath Rawat took over as Chief Minister replacing Trivendra Singh Rawat.
Tirath Singh Rawat is an MP from Garhwal.