With suspense continuing over who would be picked as the new Chief Minister, a section of the BJP workers in Haridwar have demanded the creation of the post of the deputy Chief Minister and proposed Harak Singh Rawat, the newly elected MlA from Kotdwar, for the same. In a letter sent to the BJP president Amit Shah, BJP workers led by Sanjay Chopra have demanded the same while stressing on the eventful political career of the leader who had weathered many political storms while adorning many post of responsibilities both in the erstwhile Government of united UP and later in the Government of Uttarakhand after it was carved out of Uttar Pradesh.
Speaking to The Pioneer, Sanjay Chopra who had switched to BJP from Congress along with the nine Congress MlAs, including Harak Singh Rawat, who was a Cabinet Minister of the Harish Rawat Government, said that Rawat deserved to be awarded with the post of the deputy chief minister, given his long experiences in the ministries of the two states since 1993.
“He was a minister in the Kalyan Singh-helmed government in UP and later he was the leader of the opposition in Uttarakhand. Besides, he served important ministerial posts in the Himalayan state. We have requested the BJP national president Amit Shah to take initiatives for the creation of the post of the deputy chief minister so as to help Harak Singh Rawat adorn it,” he said. lending support to the demand, another BJP member Vivek Gupta said that the creation of the post of the deputy Chief Minister was an imperative to give thrust to the development process to be initiated by the new government to fulfill on the ground the grand dream of a new Uttarakhand PM Narendra Modi has unveiled. “The party must use the efficiency of Harak Singh Rawat up to the hilt by making him the deputy chief minister of the state,” he added.