Tirath Singh Rawat (born 9 April 1964) is an Indian politician, a former
Member of Parliament and former
Chief Minister
A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union ter ...
of
Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand (, ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2007), is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. The state is bordered by Himachal Pradesh to the n ...
. He was elected to the
17th Lok Sabha from the
Garhwal constituency in the
2019 Indian general election
General elections were held in India in seven phases from 11 April to 19 May 2019 to elect the members of the 17th Lok Sabha. Votes were counted and the result was declared on 23 May. Around 912 million people were eligible to vote, and vote ...
as member of the
Bharatiya Janata Party
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; , ) is a political party in India and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. BJP emerged out from Syama Prasad Mukherjee's ...
. He was the party chief of
Bharatiya Janata Party
The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; , ) is a political party in India and one of the two major List of political parties in India, Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. BJP emerged out from Syama Prasad Mukherjee's ...
Uttarakhand from 9 February 2013 to 31 December 2015 and former member of
Uttarakhand Legislative Assembly from
Chaubattakhal constituency from 2012 to 2017. He was also the first Education Minister of Uttarakhand.
Early life and education
Tirath Singh Rawat was born to a
Hindu
Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
Rajput family in 1964 in the
Pauri Garhwal district of
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...
(now in
Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand (, ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2007), is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. The state is bordered by Himachal Pradesh to the n ...
), India. His father was Kalam Singh Rawat and his mother Gaura Devi. He holds a Master's degree in sociology and a diploma in journalism.
Career
Rawat entered active student politics and became the organizational secretary of
ABVP Uttarakhand unit and later national secretary of ABVP. He was also the student union president at
Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University in 1992. Subsequently, he became the state vice-president of Uttar Pradesh Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha. He worked for
Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh
The Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS,, ) is an Indian right-wing politics, right-wing, Hindutva, Hindu nationalist volunteer paramilitary organisation. It is the progenitor and leader of a large body of organisations called the Sangh Parivar ( ...
as a key worker, known as a pracharak, from 1983 to 1988.
He was the state vice-president of Uttar Pradesh
Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha.
In 1997, he was elected as a member of
Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council and was elected as legislature leader of BJP in the legislative council of
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...
.
He was the first education minister of the newly formed state
Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand (, ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2007), is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. The state is bordered by Himachal Pradesh to the n ...
.
After this, he was elected as state general secretary of
Uttarakhand
Uttarakhand (, ), also known as Uttaranchal ( ; List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2007), is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. The state is bordered by Himachal Pradesh to the n ...
in 2007 and after that state chief electoral officer and state membership chief.
In 2012, he was elected as legislative assembly member (MLA) and in 2013 he became Uttarakhand BJP supremo.
As Uttarakhand BJP president, he won four of six BJP mayoral posts in municipal corporation elections.
He was elected as MP from Garhwal Lok Sabha constituency on 23 May 2019. He defeated his nearest rival Manish Khanduri by more than 3.50
lakh
A lakh (; abbreviated L; sometimes written lac) is a unit in the Indian numbering system equal to one hundred thousand (100,000; scientific notation: 105). In the Indian 2, 2, 3 convention of digit grouping, it is written as 1,00,000. F ...
votes.
He took oath as the
Chief Minister of Uttarakhand on 10 March 2021. At the time, Rawat was a member of the Lok Sabha representing
Pauri Garhwal, but not a member of the
Uttarakhand state assembly. Under the constitution, to remain as Chief Minister of Uttarakhand, he needed to be elected to the state assembly within six months of being appointed Chief Minister (i.e. by 10 September 2021). Rawat did not contest the
by-election
A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, or a bypoll in India, is an election used to fill an office that has become vacant between general elections.
A vacancy may arise as a result of an incumben ...
for the
Salt Assembly constituency seat in April 2021, in part because Rawat had tested positive for COVID-19 on 22 March 2021. There were two subsequent vacancies in the state assembly, but these occurred less than a year before the term of the assembly was due to end on 22 March 2022, and by-elections are not meant to be held in the last year of the assembly's term of office. Since Rawat could not get elected to the state assembly within the deadline, he and his cabinet colleagues resigned on 2 July 2021.
Controversies
Narendra Modi as the avatar of Rama and Krishna
In March 2021, at a function organised by Hans Foundation, Rawat said, "The way people started considering Lord Ram and Krishna as gods in
Dvapara and
Treta yugas because of their works, in the same way, Prime Minister
Narendra Modi
Narendra Damodardas Modi (born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician who has served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India since 2014. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Par ...
will be considered as Lord
Ram and
Krishna in times to come."
Leaders from the opposition party of
Congress claimed this is
sycophancy and criticised him for his remarks.
Views on women's clothing
In March 2021, Tirath Singh Rawat created controversy by saying that he was shocked to see a woman running an
NGO in ripped jeans, and was concerned about the example she was setting for society.
Priyanka Gandhi criticised Rawat on his remarks and also posted photos of Prime Minister
Narendra Modi
Narendra Damodardas Modi (born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician who has served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India since 2014. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Par ...
and Union Minister
Nitin Gadkari in white shirts and khaki shorts (
RSS uniform).
Rawat later apologised for his controversial remarks and added he has no problem with
jeans. But he maintained his objections to ripped jeans, claiming wearing "torn" ones is "not right."
Colonisation of India
Shortly after taking office as Chief Minister, Rawat said that India was handling the COVID-19 pandemic better than the
United States
The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
, which had enslaved India for two hundred years. It sparked outrage as it was the
British Empire
The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...
that had colonised India, and not the United States.
COVID-19 pandemic
Rawat took heavy criticism for his decision to pursue the
Haridwar Kumbh Mela in
Haridwar without any restrictions related to COVID-19. Rawat disputed the effects of COVID-19, saying that "Maa Ganga's blessings" would prevent ill effects. The 2021 Kumbh Mela gravely exacerbated the
COVID-19 pandemic in India
The COVID-19 pandemic in India is a part of the COVID-19 pandemic, worldwide pandemic of COVID-19, coronavirus disease 2019 () caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). As of , according to Indian government ...
, and more than a thousand devotees tested positive for COVID-19 at the event. He also drew a distinction of the Kumbh Mela gathering and
Tablighi gathering in Delhi during the preceding year, saying the latter was 'all inside a building' while Kumbh Mela is 'out in the open'. The Uttarakhand High Court criticised his decision to proceed with the Kumbh Mela under this circumstance. The
Chota Char Dham Yatra, a tour of four holy sites in Uttarakhand, was suspended on 30 April due to the rise in cases of COVID-19.
Awards
* Newsmakers Achievers Awards 2022
References
External links
Official biographical sketch in Parliament of India website*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rawat, Tirath Singh
Uttarakhand MLAs 2000–2002
State cabinet ministers of Uttarakhand
Finance ministers of Uttarakhand
R
People from Pauri Garhwal district
Bharatiya Janata Party politicians from Uttarakhand
India MPs 2019–2024
1964 births
Members of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council
Living people
Chief ministers from Bharatiya Janata Party
Uttarakhand MLAs 2012–2017
Uttarakhand MLAs 2017–2022
Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna Garhwal University alumni