DEHRADUN: In a glittering yet simple ceremony attended by Prime Minister Narender Modi, ‘humbled’ Pushkar Singh Dhami on Shahid Divas today took oath as the 12th Chief Minister of Himalayan state of Uttarakhand in the historic Parade Ground here on Wednesday.
Dhami along with his team of eight ministers were administered oath of secrecy and office by the Uttarakhand Governor, Lt Gen(retd) Gurmit Singh in a simple yet glittering ceremony. Dhami took blessings at Har ki Pauri at Haridwar, saluted Shahid Bhagat Singh, Rajguru and Sukh Dev at Shahid Divas before he moved to the Parade ground for the oath. “I will work as a Sevak of people for the development and prosperity of Uttarakhand and strive to make it a top-ranking state in the country”, he asserted.
BJP High Command probably chose Dhami as the CM-designate as his last seven months old performance as Chief Minister was ‘spirited’ and motivating for the party in Uttarakhand.
Humbled first by his defeat in the state assembly elections from Khatima and then chosen as CM-designate by the BJP high command, Pushkar Singh Dhami today became Chief Minister of Uttarakhand for the second time.
After Dhami Satpal Maharaj was the first to take oath. He was followed by Prem Chandra Aggarwal, who took oath in Sanskrit, Ganesh Joshi, who saluted Prime Minister in a military gesture and shook a brisk hand with him, Dr Dhan Singh Rawat, Subodh Unniyal, Rekha Arya, the only woman who took oath as minister, Chandan Ramdas, Saurabh Bahuguna, the youngest minister of the Dhami government, which took reign of Uttarakhand in a row for the first time.
Chandan Ramdas and Saurabh Bahuguna are the first timers and they come from different backgrounds, They are being tipped as the new performers to enhance BJP' political prospectus in the near future.
Apart from the Prime Minister, present on the occasion were Home Minister Amit Shah, Defense Minister Rajnath Singh, CM-designate of UP Yogi Adityanath, BJP National president, Jagat Prakash Nadda, Chief Minister of Himachal Pradesh, Jai Ram Thakur, CM of Haryana Manohar Lal Khattar, CM of MP Shivraj Singh Chauhan and others.
Soon after Pushkar Singh Dhami team took oath, the social media was rife with the comments and expectations from the BJP government which, for the first time, broke the jinx that no government repeat the government in Uttarakhand in its 21 years old history of electioneering.
Commenting on the new Pushkar Singh Dhami government, President SDC Foundation, Anoop Nautiyal said if gauged from the governance standpoint, 11 ministers should have been on the job for Uttarakhand instead of eight who took oath today. The government needs to work extra harder to fulfil the aspirations of the people of Uttarakhand this time, he said.
