N.D.Tiwari's letter not received in AICC

New Delhi, Mar 4(UNI) Even as rumours about the likely resignation of Uttaranchal Chief Minister N.D.Tiwari persisted, sources in the AICC said today that no letter had been received from the octogenarian leader expressing his desire to resign.

"We have checked up and no letter has been received from Mr Tiwari in the AICC," the sources said.

However, the sources neither confirmed nor denied whether Mr Tiwari's resignation was imminent.

Mr Tiwari, who is 80 plus, announced at a public function in Dehra Dun this morning that he had asked the Congress High Command to relieve him of his post in view of his old age and said that he expected a decision from the party president within a month. He clarified that he had not submitted his resignation yet and only asked the High Command to relieve him from office and was awaiting the party's decision.

AICC Treasurer Moti Lal Vora, who is incharge of Uttaranchal, was on a visit to that hill state and not available to confirm Mr Tiwari's move to be relieved.

The sources refrained from comment when asked whether Mr Vora's visit to Uttaranchal is intended to drop any hint to the senior Congress leader about his being shifted as a Governor in the near future.

Mr Tiwari's name as a likely choice for Governor's post has been in the air for quite sometime, but sources close to the Chief Minister have persistently denied the reports.

Speculation about Mr Tiwari being appointed as Governor have been rife because vacancies have occurred in the gubernatorial post in four states lately either due to the completion of their terms or the incumbents being shifted elsewhere.

UNI YS RP PM1951