Eleven ministers took oath in Uttarakhand on Friday, 12 March, just days after Tirath Singh Rawat was sworn-in as the new chief minister of the state.
As part of the Cabinet expansion, Satpal Maharaj, Bansidhar Bhagat, Harak Singh Rawat, Bishan Singh Chuphal, Yashpal Arya, Arvind Pandey, Ganesh Joshi and Subodh Uniyal took oath as Cabinet ministers, according to news agency ANI.
Meanwhile. Rekha Arya, Dhan Singh Rawat and Swami Yatiswarananda took oath as ministers with independent charge.
The Cabinet expansion reflects an attempt to accommodate the disgruntled elements in the state. While Satpal Maharaj, Harak Singh Rawat and Yashpal Arya have been Congress turncoats, Bishan Singh Chuphal is said to have been dissatisfied under the chief ministership of Trivendra Singh Rawat.
‘Never Imagined I Would Reach Here’
On Wednesday, Tirath Singh Rawat took oath as the new chief minister of Uttarakhand, after his predecessor Trivendra Singh Rawat stepped down on Tuesday amid rising political turmoil in the state.
“I thank the prime minister, Home Minister (Amit Shah) and party chief (JP Nadda) who trusted me, a mere party worker who comes from a small village. I had never imagined that I would reach here. We will make all efforts to meet people’s expectations and take forward the work done in the last four years,” Tirath Singh had said while speaking to the media, as quoted by ANI.
Soon after the announcement of his appointment on Wednesday, he met Governor Baby Rani Maurya in Dehradun.
Uttarakhand's new BJP chief Madan Kaushik asserted on Friday that the saffron party will again form the government in the state after the Assembly elections of 2022, reported PTI.
(With inputs from ANI and PTI.)
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