CM, Ministers & BJP leaders pay tribute to Shaila Rani Rawat
By Our Staff Reporter
Dehradun, 10 Jul: BJP MLA from Kedarnath Shaila Rani Rawat passed away late last night at Max Hospital after a prolonged illness. She was 68 years old. Today, her mortal remains were brought to the BJP State Headquarters in the morning and kept there for the last darshan. Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, all the cabinet ministers, party MLAs and other party workers paid tribute to her by laying flower wreaths before her mortal remains. There is a wave of mourning in her constituency, especially in Agastyamuni.
It may be recalled that BJP MLA from Kedarnath constituency of Rudraprayag district Shaila Rani Rawat died at Max Hospital here at around 10:30 p.m. yesterday. Shaila Rawat was on ventilator in Max Hospital for two days. She could not recover even after surgery for a spinal fracture. Last night, she breathed her last. Later, her body was taken to her Dehradun residence. Her last rites will be performed in Rudraprayag tomorrow.
Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, Cabinet Ministers Dhan Singh Rawat, Subodh Uniyal, Prem Chand Aggarwal, Rekha Arya, Saurabh Bahuguna, Minister were among those who paid tribute to her at the BJP state headquarters. Many BJP MLAs, office bearers and workers also paid tribute to her. Expressing deep grief over the demise of MLA Shaila Rani Rawat, the Chief Minister said that her death is an irreparable loss for the entire state and the party. She was always eager to solve the problems of the people in her constituency.
The Chief Minister said that Shailarani Rawat always worked dedicatedly for the development of Kedarnath assembly constituency and got the problems of the people resolved by ensuring priority for them at the government and administration levels. She always worked to raise the voice of the people standing at the last end of the society and take it towards solution. She had a simple, easy and soft-spoken personality.
Dhami prayed to God to give place to the departed soul at his lotus feet and to grant patience to the bereaved family and well-wishers in this hour of grief. He said that Shaila Rani Rawat’s dedication to duty and public service will always be remembered. On this occasion, MP Trivendra Singh Rawat, MLAs Umesh Sharma Kau, Khajan Das, Renu Bisht, Suresh Singh Chauhan and party office bearers also paid tribute to Shailarani Rawat. BJP MP from Pauri Garhwal Lok Sabha seat Anil Baluni has also expressed condolences on the death of the Kedarnath MLA. Assembly Speaker Ritu Khanduri Bhushan also paid her tribute to late Shaila Rani Rawat.
The body of late Shaila Rani Rawat was later taken to her home district Rudraprayag. A tribute and condolence meeting was organised at BJP District Office, Rudraprayag, at 4 p.m. today. A condolence meeting was also held at her residence in Agastyamuni at 6 p.m. today. Tomorrow, after the tribute and condolence meeting to be held at Sports Stadium, Agastyamuni, the mortal remains of Shaila Rani Rawat will be duly cremated at Triveni Ghat Vidyapeeth Guptkashi-Kalimath Road at 11 a.m. as per the last wish of MLA Shailarani Rawat.
It may be recalled that she had received serious injuries after sustaining a fall in an accident in 2017 and, thereafter, took a long time to recover. Though she recovered to a great extent, but again sustained serious injuries to her spine two months ago when she fell down at Omkareshwar temple in district Rudraprayag. She also underwent spinal surgery, but the surgery did not prove to be successful and she could not recover. Meanwhile, she also developed cancer. She was on ventilator support for past two days at Max Hospital and breathed her last late last night even as arrangements were being made to shift her to Delhi by an air-ambulance. Shailarani’s personal assistant Pappu stated that her last rites will be performed in Rudraprayag tomorrow at 11 a.m.
Kedarnath MLA Shailarani’s political career had seen lot of ups and down. She began her political career with the Congress and she won for the first time from Kedarnath in 2012 but quit the party and joined the BJP in 2016 along with eight other Congress MLAs. She contested the Kedarnath assembly seat in 2017 on a BJP ticket but lost. Despite this, the BJP high command kept faith in her and she was again given the party ticket in 2022 when she managed to win defeating the incumbent Congress MLA Manoj Rawat.
