Harish Rawat hints that leaders from Garhwal may get place in his cabinet

DEHRADUN: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat today said it was sheer coincidence that several key positions in his government were occupied by leaders from Kumaun region and hinted that leaders from Garhwal region might get a place in his Cabinet whenever he goes for expansion.

"It is just a coincidence that you find several key positions in government and the party occupied by leaders from Kumaun. It is not our preference for a particular region. Whenever I expand my Cabinet, the balance may shift heavily to the other side (Garhwal)," Rawat said.

Two berths in Rawat's Cabinet are vacant. One fell vacant after the death of Transport Minister Surendra Rakesh last year while the other got empty after the resignation of Agriculture Minister Harak Singh Rawat in March this year.

Rawat said, "We have just one identity. We are all Uttarakhandis. Let's not compartmentalise our thinking along regional lines."

When asked about the resentment within the party over the candidature of Pradeep Tamta, a leader from Kumaun, for the Rajya Sabha, the Chief Minister said it is historic as a Dalit leader from the state was being sent to represent in the Rajya Sabha for the first time.

Resentment prevails in a section of the state Congress over all important positions in the party and government going to the leaders from Kumaun.

Chief Minister Harish Rawat, Pradesh Congress Committee president Kishore Upadhyay, Mahila Congress president Sarita Arya and party nominee for the Upper House of Parliament Pradeep Tamta are all from the Kumaon region.