BJP leadership intervenes to prevent Uttarakhand minister from quitting

Uttarakhand minister Harak Singh Rawat left a cabinet meeting in a huff on Friday night, triggering speculation that he might resign as a minister.

Sources said Rawat left the meeting as he was angry that a proposal for a medical college in Kotdwar -- his constituency -- was not being cleared by the cabinet.

However, talking to a television news channel, state Bharatiya Janata Party chief Madan Kaushik dismissed reports of Rawat's resignation as a 'rumour'.

There was also talk about the resignation of BJP MLA Umesh Sharma Kau.

However, his son Gaurav Sharma denied it, saying they were surprised when the news was flashed by some television channels.

Interestingly, Kau received a call from Delhi soon after the speculation surfaced that he went to meet Rawat to dissuade him from resigning as a minister.

On Saturday, Kau said that Rawat's grievance has been addressed and no one is going anywhere.

He said the issue has been settled with the intervention of the central leadership and Chief Minister Dhami.

His proposal for a medical college in Kotdwar has been accepted and he has also been assured that the budget for the project will be released by Monday, Kau said.

When asked whether Rawat had agreed not to resign, the MLA from Raipur said 'no one was going anywhere'.

"We will all work as true soldiers of the BJP," Kau said.

Both Rawat and Kau had rebelled against former Uttarakhand chief minister and senior Congress leader Harish Rawat in 2016 and crossed over to the BJP.

Rawat is the forest minister in Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami's cabinet.