Cabinet Ministers, who were administered oath along with Chief Minister on February 1, have been desperately waiting for their portfolios. Sources said that Chief Minister Harish Rawat may allocate portfolio among them after the enforcement of model of code of conduct due to general election. Sources further pointed out that by adopting a dilly-dallying approach,
CM Rawat may face inimical situation during upcoming general election. Meanwhile, leader of Opposition Ajay Bhatt alleged that by making delay in distribution of portfolios, Rawat has ascertained BJP’s claim that the Chief Minister was running a one-man-show. The situation has also raised a question mark as to how Rawat was running a Government without distributing any portfolio to his Cabinet colleagues.
Although the State Government has managed to push back the three tier Panchayat elections till June by an order of Supreme Court, Rawat has made his points that he was currently busy due to his tight schedule of day-to-day work and added that once he got time he would go to Delhi to seek guidance of party high command for the allocation of portfolios to his Cabinet Ministers.
He has given enough hints that Cabinet Ministers would get their department after the enforcement of model code of conduct for the upcoming general election. Currently Rawat was busy in meeting with Government officials and visiting disaster affected areas of the State. Talking to The Pioneer, a Cabinet Minister said that by making delay in portfolio allocations Chief Minister Rawat was creating problem for the whole State. Sources said that Rawat has made their Cabinet colleague desperate and now they are ready to make compromise. Earlier they (Ministers) were lobbying to get lucrative portfolios like PWD, Power, Disaster and Information department but now they are ready to receive their previous portfolios, which they were handling earlier.
Bhatt alleged Uttarakhand would be first state in the country where ministers did not get their portfolio even after one month of oath. If CM Rawat does not want to allocate portfolio then why ministers were administered oath because work is getting hamper. With this there is emergency like situation has created in the state.
For the last month Chief Minister was running the entire State and he has made several announcements by convening eight cabinet meeting in last one month. Bhatt demanded that CM should make it clear that whether he has allocated portfolios or notIJ Currently Cabinet Minister’s portfolios were being mentioned in Government advertisement. With this people are confused and make sarcastic comment on it.
Bhatt alleged that Rawat was making announcements and Cabinet Ministers were sitting idle because they don’t have official work. He reminded that eight months ago State had witnessed devastation due to nature fury and motor roads leading char dham have received severe damaged. In Badrinath 27 dangers zone were identified but reconstruction work is yet to begin there.
Even Union Government has not released fund to Border Road Organisation (BRO) so they stopped their work. Even then they retrenched their labourers and construction work, which was moving at snarl space due to uncertainty about executing agency either BRO or PWD, has stopped completely. Till today, the State Government has failed to raise a house for the priest in Kedarnath and made few pre fabricated house, which is one kilometre ahead from the Kedarnath shrine, so priest would not be able to reach there at 4 am for prayer.