Chief Minister Harish Rawat is facing inimical situation because Cabinet Ministers are not happy with the portfolios allotted to them by the CM on Tuesday late evening, and five Cabinet Ministers did not attend the Cabinet meeting on Wednesday morning.
Sources said Cabinet Minister Indira Hridayesh left for Delhi to express her grievance before party high command and Amrita Rawat had expressed her anguish before the CM in Secretariat on intervening night of Tuesday and Wednesday. Talking to The Pioneer senior most Cabinet Minister Hridayesh expressed displeasure with the portfolio distribution.
Sensing adverse condition CM Rawat took U-turn and said that he knows that Ministers could not be given portfolio as per their talent. He also has given enough hints that there is no end so chances are imminent for their upgradation. Now question is that if he knows that he did not do justice then when would he do justice with themIJ
On Tuesday late evening, the CM allocated portfolio and mentioned 16 with himself and remaining portfolio distributed to their Cabinet colleague. Interestingly he has neither kept nor allocated portfolios like PWD, Power and Excise to their Minister. In the last line of Government order (GO) mentioned that whichever portfolios are not allocated to anyone will be taken care by the CM.
Political analysts said that the CM himself holds 16 charges including disaster management and rehabilitation, border area development, Information and Information technology (IT) and industrial development but unofficially he has kept few lucrative portfolios like PWD, Power and Excise, which have become bone of contention between Chief Minister and Ministers.
Sources said that during lobbying against the former Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna, then Union Cabinet Minister Harish Rawat had assured Cabinet Ministers that their stature will be upgraded if they support him. As he became CM of Uttarakhand on February 1, since then Rawat was under pressure about how to fulfil promises made to the Ministers. In this regard he had adopted dillydallying attitude and kept their Cabinet Minister in waiting.
Meanwhile, Cabinet Ministers were seen lobbying for lucrative departments but their patience exhausted when they saw their promises were not fulfilled by the CM. In this process, Cabinet Minister Amrita Rawat, who was angry since disclosure of poly house scam, blew out of proportion before the CM on Tuesday late night. She was optimistic that she would get PWD or Power but she was denied these departments.
Harak Singh Rawat, who had already made his point against the CM while party workers meeting was being convened by Uttarakhand Congress in-charge Ambika Soni, has lodged his resentment by participating more than one hour late in the Cabinet meeting. Besides, three Cabinet Ministers including, Pritam Singh Panwar, Harish Chandra Durgapal and Surendra Rakesh, who were on Progressive Democratic Front (PDF) quota, did not attend Cabinet Meeting on Wednesday.
Another Cabinet Minister said that CM Rawat has not allocated portfolio with whole-heartedly. For instance, he has allocated Forest to Dinesh Aggrawal but kept environment with himself; allocated Youth Welfare to Amrita Rawat but allocated Sports to Minister Aggrawal.