A day after hosting a mushroom and khichdi party in Dehradun, senior Congress leader and former Chief Minister Harish Rawat attended a similar programme at Haldwani. Though he has been claiming to hold such events for non-political reasons, the All India Congress Committee general secretary did not miss the opportunity to lambast the Central Government.

Interacting with the gathering at the Khichdi feast in Haldwani, Rawat alleged that the Central Government under Prime Minister Narendra Modi was anti-poor and anti-farmer. Accusing the Central Government of consistently duping the unemployment people of the country, he opined that in its four and a half years in office, the Central Government had not executed any major public welfare scheme.

The people will respond in a befitting manner to the misinformation being spread by the BJP Government at Centre, he said. Rawat said that in the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections, the public would vote the Congress to office at the Centre.

Under the leadership of its national president Rahul Gandhi, the Congress would set an example of victory in the Lok Sabha elections, he averred.

The former Chief Minister went on to claim that there is no factionalism among the party workers and that the Congress is working in a united manner to register a resounding victory in the coming parliamentary elections.

Former Vidhan Sabha speaker Gobind Singh Kunjwal, Mahila Congress state president Sarita Arya and other public representatives along with locals were also among those present on the occasion.

It is pertinent to mention here that though Rawat is stressing that the parties he is hosting are apolitical, observers opine that these are part of his efforts to consolidate his position to contest the Lok Sabha election in the State.

He is said to be eyeing either the Nainital or the Haridwar constituencies for contesting the coming parliamentary polls.