Uttarakhand govt agrees to withdraw COVID-19 cases against violators in first cabinet meet

Uttarakhand's newly sworn-in Chief Minister Tirath Singh Rawat decided to withdraw all cases registered in connection with COVID-19 violations. Rawat made the decision during his first cabinet meeting on Friday.

Uttarakhand issues new SOPs

On February 23, the Uttarakhand government issued a new Standard Operating Procedure (SOPs), according to which passengers travelling from Maharashtra, Gujarat, Kerala, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh to Uttarakhand will have to carry RT-PCR negative reports or will have to undergo COVID-19 test on arrival as a precautionary measure.

9th Uttarakhand CM-Tirath Singh Rawat

Former BJP state chief Tirath Singh Rawat (56) took oath as the 9th chief minister of the hill state on March 10 in the presence of Governor Baby Rani Maurya at Raj Bhawan. He replaced Trivendra Singh Rawat who had stepped down from the post. Active in politics for two decades, Rawat has been a former pracharak of the Rashtriya Swayamseva Sangh (RSS). In 2019, he was elected as a Member of Parliament to the 17th Lok Sabha. In 2012, he was elected as MLA and went on to become the chief of Uttarakhand's BJP unit in 2013. Previously, he was the first education minister of the state when Uttarakhand was formed in 2000.

Trivendra Singh’s resigned after BJP general secretary in-charge of Uttarakhand Dushyant Kumar Gautam and former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Dr Raman Singh, submitted a report to the BJP’s central leadership, detailing the rebellion in the state unit of the party, as per sources.

Uttarakhand Cabinet Expanded

On March 12, Tirath Singh Rawat expanded his cabinet as 8 Ministers & 3 MoS took Oath. Satpal Maharaj, Bansidhar Bhagat, Harak Singh Rawat, Bishan Singh Chuphal, Yashpal Arya, Arvind Pandey, Ganesh Joshi, Subodh Uniyal took oath as Cabinet Ministers. Rekha Arya, Dhan Singh Rawat, Swami Yatishwaranand took oath as Ministers with Independent charge. CM Tirath Singh Rawat is currently holding his first cabinet meeting.