By ARUN PRATAP SINGH
DEHRADUN, 9 Aug: Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has been camping in Delhi for some days meeting top party leaders and other top Union Ministers. While meeting with the union ministers were related to several projects of Uttarakhand, his meeting last evening with BJP President JP Nadda has sparked speculation about the possibility of Lal Batti appointments soon in the state. Earlier, Dhami had also called on Union Home Minister Amit Shah and as per the claims made by some highly placed sources, he also discussed the issue with Shah.
So far Dhami has refrained from making large number of Lal Batti appointments since taking charge as the Chief Minister for the second time. However, sources in the party claimed that several Lal Batti appointments were in the offing soon after Dhami’s return to the state. The appointments could be made around the Independence Day. So far the most important Lal Batti appointment made by Dhami after becoming the CM for the second time has been of former MLA Kailash Chand Gehtori who was appointed as Chairman of Garhwal Mandal Vikas Nigam. It may be recalled that Gehtori who had won as MLA for the second time from Champawat had resigned as MLA to enable CM Dhami to contest the bypoll from that constituency as he had lost his own election during the general assembly elections from Khatima.
Sources also claimed that the Cabinet Expansion probably was not on cards anytime soon and this was not the issue that was discussed with the Central leadership on a serious note during Dhami’s Delhi visit this time. It may be recalled that Dhami Government has three vacancies at present in his council of ministers and as many districts remain unrepresented as well as due to the fact that there are many senior party leaders who are aspiring for the minister’s position, cabinet expansion remains a politically challenging task for Dhami. It may be recalled that the then CM Trivendra Singh Rawat could not fill up the vacancies in his council of ministers throughout the period that he was the CM. The vacancies were finally filled in the last term when for a brief period of few months, Tirath Singh Rawat had become the CM. When Dhami had taken over from Tirath Singh Rawat last year, he continued with the same ministers.
