Harish Rawat stresses Sanatan-Brahmin-Congress unity to boost party in polls

In an attempt to garner support from the Brahmin community ahead of upcoming political battles, former Uttarakhand Chief Minister and Congress leader Harish Rawat has called for unity between Sanatan, Congress, and the Brahmin community, asserting that all three share a common ethos.

Speaking to UNI, Rawat said the Brahmin community’s influence in governance had diminished with the weakening of the Congress party.

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“When I studied primitive India and the early days of independent India, I found that Sanatan was a liberal approach. That approach had power comparable to the Ganga to assimilate all that came its way,” he said.

The leader further added, “The torchbearers of that power to carry forward the Sanatan approach and its message were Brahmins. This is because they were the first to receive an education. Those who were educated understood the approach first and took leadership of the Sanatan.”

It is worth mentioning that the 70-member Uttarakhand legislative assembly election is scheduled in 2027.

“I only stated that Sanatan, Congress, and Brahmins share the same nature. The status of Brahmins has also shifted from its original locus with the weakening of the Congress party,” Rawat said and emphasized the crucial role of Brahmins in preserving India’s cultural and political heritage.

Rawat further said that Gandhi shaped the Congress party’s behavior similar to Sanatan. “Gandhi made the Congress open-minded, tolerant, all-encompassing, and accommodating. Congress party heavyweights emphasized that the confluence of Sanatan, Brahmins, and the Congress party has always resulted in the strengthening of the nation. And let it start from Uttarakhand,” he said, while urging the party to harness their support for a stronger Uttarakhand.

The Congress veteran, however, criticized one of his own senior party leaders who dismissed his statement on Brahmins as casteist and against party ideology.

“I don’t know who they are, but some people do not have the DNA to understand the Congress Party. They are ‘transplanted’ people who came from parties with no affinity for the Congress and Uttarakhand. They attacked statehood agitators,” Rawat said without naming anyone.

Reacting to criticism from within the party ranks, Rawat said that he was not surprised as “Nothing more could be expected from such leaders.”

The controversy began after a senior vice president of the state Congress Suryakant Dhasmana called Rawat’s remarks casteist, asserting that the Congress had never promoted caste politics and had always respected leaders from all backgrounds, citing examples of former Chief Ministers Narayan Dutt Tiwari and Vijay Bahuguna.

Despite the row, Rawat expressed optimism about the party’s future, saying the Congress is moving towards a major change through its ‘Sangathan Srijan Abhiyan’.

“I hope that this campaign will enable a good number of Brahmin community youths to take organizational responsibilities within the party in the state,” he said.