Cong leaders advocate for Bhagat’s presence in Dhami cabinet
Sunday, 27 March 2022 | PNS | Dehradun
Former cabinet minister and senior BJP leader Banshidhar Bhagat received support from an unexpected quarter on Saturday when the Congress leaders strongly advocated for his place in the state cabinet. Bhagat who supervised the election of Ritu Khanduri to the position of assembly speaker as Protem speaker was being praised by the members for his role. In his address the CM termed him an elder spokesperson of the party and the one to whom he would look up for guidance. Senior Congress leader Pritam Singh said that the experience and skills of Bhagat should be utilised and he should be inducted into the Dhami cabinet. He even requested CM Dhami to induct Bhagat as minister without delay as three berths are still vacant in the cabinet. Another Congress leader Yashpal Arya also said that instead of making him a ‘Margdarshak’ the CM should make Bhagat a cabinet minister. The advocacy of Bhagat amused the members of the house.
In selecting his cabinet CM Dhami ignored senior leaders Bhagat, Bishen Singh Chufal, BJP State chief Madan Kaushik and Arvind Pandey.
After being dropped Bhagat, a former chief of state unit of BJP and seven times MLA adopted a stoic silence. However Chufal who too is former president of state BJP and seven times MLA opened a front against the Maharashtra governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari and blamed him for being not picked up in the cabinet.