Uttarakhand Chief Minister Ramesh Pokhariyal Nishank today announced all the four ministers of state as full-fledged cabinet ministers and pledged to divest his ‘heavy’ portfolios.
This is being seen as an astute move by Nishank to strengthen his position within the ruling BJP, which had been plagued by the infighting that led to a change of guard last year.
After the swearing-in ceremony at Raj Bhawan here, all the four — Vijaya Barthwal, Khajan Das, Balwant Singh Bhoryal and Govind Singh Bist, who were ministers of state, pledged their unflinching support to Nishank. “He (Nishank) is our leader and we are thankful to him for giving us the honour,” said Bhoryal.
There will be no junior minister in the state council of ministers for the first time in the state. Nishank took over the state on June 27 last year.
