Pushkar Singh Dhami sworn-in as Uttarakhand CM; ministers take oath
What's the story
Pushkar Singh Dhami on Sunday took oath as the Chief Minister of Uttarakhand at a ceremony in Raj Bhawan in the state capital Dehradun.
Dhami was picked by the Bharatiya Janata Party as the CM-designate after the resignation of former CM Tirath Singh Rawat late on Friday.
Rawat's resignation notably came barely four months after he took office.
Here are more details.
Details
Dhami, 11 MLAs take oath
On Sunday, Dhami (45) took oath as the next CM of Uttarakhand and has completed all other formalities.
Eleven BJP MLAs, all part of the Rawat cabinet, also took their oaths as cabinet ministers.
These included Arvind Pandey, Bansidhar Bhagat, Bishan Singh Chuphal, Dhan Singh Rawat, Ganesh Joshi, Harak Singh Rawat, Rekha Arya, Satpal Maharaj, Subodh Uniyal, Yatishwaranand, and Yashpal Arya.
Quote
COVID-19 impacted youths; will make their situation better: Dhami
Dhami said, "I have been working among youngsters and I understand the issues very well. COVID-19 has impacted their livelihood. We will try to make the situation better for them and will try to appoint youngsters for the vacant posts in the state."
Career
Dhami a two-time MLA from Kumaon
Dhami is a two-time MLA from the Kumaon region (Khatima constituency).
Twice before, he has served as the President of the BJP youth wing in Uttarakhand.
He is also considered close to Bhagat Singh Koshyari, who is a former state CM and is currently the Governor of Maharashtra and Goa.
Dhami is taking over as CM ahead of the state Assembly elections in 2022.
Background
Right for me to resign given constitutional crisis: Rawat
Tirath Singh Rawat resigned after meetings with the top BJP leadership.
He tendered his resignation late on Friday night to Governor Baby Rani Maurya.
He was reportedly asked to quit by the party.
"Given the constitutional crisis, I felt it was right for me to resign," he said.
He had taken oath on March 10 as his predecessor faced dissent in the party.
Quote
My party has appointed a common worker: Dhami before oath
Before swearing in, Dhami had said, "My party has appointed a common worker, son of an ex-serviceman, who was born in Pithoragarh to serve the state. We'll work together for people's welfare."
He had also said that he will turn the challenge of the 2022 elections will be turned into an opportunity.
"I will continue to carry forward my party's good work," he added.
Controversy
Before oath-taking, Dhami invited controversy
Even before Dhami took his oath, an old tweet of his went viral.
In 2015, Dhami had tweeted a map purportedly showing "Akhand Bharat (undivided India)."
However, the map had missed out on key parts of present-day India, including parts of Ladakh and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).
Some critics also pointed out that the map had no regard for international borders.