Ahead of the Lok Sabha polls, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Harish Rawat faces opposition from senior Congress Minister Indira Hriyadesh over the issue of portfolio distribution. Mr. Rawat allotted portfolios to his Cabinet on March 4, after more than a month since he took charge as Chief Minister.
Congress sources said the State Tourism Minister Amrita Rawat and the State Finance Minister Indira Hriyadesh were unhappy over the allocation of portfolios.
Ms Hriyadesh has 12 departments under her, including Finance and Parliamentary Affairs. The horticulture department was with Ms Amrita Rawat during the Bahuguna government. However, it is now under Congress Minister Harak Singh Rawat.
Ms Hriyadesh said, “If the departments are not distributed according to the individual capacities [of the Cabinet Ministers], how will the work on the ground progress?”
Harish Rawat has kept 16 departments under him including important departments like industrial development, environment, and disaster management and rehabilitation.
Ms Hriyadesh said: “He had promised me certain departments and had said he would keep only four or five departments with himself.”
Accepting the portfolio distribution as a “mistake,” Mr. Rawat recently said, “If I have made a mistake [in portfolio distribution to the Cabinet] I shall make amends.”
Ms Hriyadesh said: “I will not ask for any department. It is the responsibility of the Chief Minister to see his Cabinet is satisfied.”
