Dehradun, July 15 -- Former chief minister and Congress leader Harish Rawat said that if the Congress is allowed to form the government in the 2027 Uttarakhand assembly elections, he will ensure that Gairsain becomes the state capital. Hitting back at the leader, BJP said that their government had Gairsain was declared the summer capital of Uttarakhand in 2020. "To all those people who say that Harish Rawat had the opportunity but didn't make Gairsain the capital. I want to tell them, if you give the Congress a chance in 2027, I will make Gairsain as the capital," Rawat said in a post on X on Sunday. "When did Uttarakhand give me votes to make Gairsain the capital or to make smaller districts?...I became CM for three years by coincidence...if the tragedy of Kedarnath had not happened...then I would not have become CM. I did two major things during my tenure. First, I helped the state recover from the disaster. Second, I shifted the focus away from turning Uttarakhand into a replica of Uttar Pradesh, and instead anchored it in the original vision of the statehood movement. I didn't forget Gairsain. I built a grand and modern assembly building there," he said in a video clip. He further said, "I approved Rs.57 crore and appointed an agency to turn Bhararisain into a proper township. Plans were made, including residential housing for 5,000 people. In the same Gairsain, where earlier even 20 people couldn't find a place to stay overnight, I developed infrastructure to accommodate 2,000-2,500 people. But I wasn't given enough time to complete the work." Gairsain as the state's capital has been a political issue since the formation of the state in 2000. Even during the movement of statehood for Uttarakhand, people had demanded Gairsain as the state capital. They argued that Gairsain being almost equidistant from both Kumaon and Garhwal divisions, it is better that the state has a permanent hill capital on the lines of Himachal Pradesh, Nagaland and Sikkim The then state government on March 4, 2020, had declared Gairsain, situated on the Dudhaatoli peak of the Himalayan region, as the summer capital of the state. The Vidhan Sabha complex in Bhararisain spans 47 acres and is situated at an elevation of 2,380 metres above sea level, making it a cold destination year-round. During sessions, personnel including officers and staff from both the Vidhan Sabha and Secretariat in Dehradun undertake a 10-hour journey to reach the location, and return to the state capital after the conclusion of proceedings. In response to Rawat's remarks, BJP state media in-charge Manveer Singh Chauhan said: "It was under the BJP government that Gairsain was declared the summer capital of Uttarakhand, and people are well aware of who has truly contributed to its development." "Under BJP rule, several development projects have been announced for Gairsain. It is only the BJP that has actually contributed for Gairsain. Congress just makes statements, but people know that only the BJP follows through on its commitments. In 2027, the BJP will once again form the government in the state," he said....