Sulking Tiwari puts in papers

After resisting for long demands that he quit, N D Tiwari today resigned as Uttaranchal Chief Minister. He has sent his resignation to Congr...

After resisting for long demands that he quit, N D Tiwari today resigned as Uttaranchal Chief Minister. He has sent his resignation to Congress chief Sonia Gandhi.

A powerful section within the Uttaranchal Congress, led by PCC president Harish Rawat, has been campaigning for his removal and Tiwari himself has been sulking for quiet sometime for allegedly being marginalised in the Congress hierarchy.

Tiwari, 81, who kept away from the AICC plenary in Hyderabad in January, told reporters that he was growing old and wanted Gandhi to relieve him from office within a month.

The Congress veteran, who was chief minister of undivided Uttar Pradesh four times and had served in the Union Cabinet, was not nominated to the all-powerful Congress Working Committee, which was reconstituted ahead of the plenary.

The AICC has been praising the work carried out by him and his government in the newly formed state and had dismissed reports of him being replaced and made a governor.

8220;I have turned 81 and there is no person of my age serving as chief minister in the country,8221; Tiwari said expressing the desire to quit from active politics ahead of the Assembly elections in the state due early next year. He, however, said he would continue his social service.

Significantly, Tiwari8217;s statement came as no surprise since he had made similar announcements in the past three years in the face of growing differences within the ruling Congress.

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Tiwari said he was giving a chance to the party high command to take a thoughtful decision as he did not want to continue as chief minister till the age of 88.

8220;I am giving the party high command a chance to decide. I don8217;t think that it is advisable that I should stay on as chief minister till I am 888221;, he said when asked about his offer to quit at the time when the state was going to face Assembly polls early next year.