BJP removes Minister from the Uttarkhand cabinet, sacks from party for 'anti-party activities'

New Delhi: Barely a month before the Assembly election in the hill state Uttarakhand, BJP has sacked minister Harak Singh Rawat from the Cabinet. The party has also removed Rawat from its primary membership for 'anti-party activities' for six years.

Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Dhami has written to the governor about removing Rawat from the Cabinet, reports PTI quoting sources.

According to BJP, Rawat was asking for tickets for three of his family members including his wife in the assembly polls but had been told that the party had made it a rule that only one member of a family would be fielded.

Reports suggest that Rawat who is present in the national capital is likely to join Congress on Monday. "Rawat is in touch with the Congress leadership and is likely to join the party. His daughter-in-law may also join the party with him on Monday," IANS reports quoting sources.

Rawat had switched over from the Congress to the BJP before the 2017 Assembly polls. Rawat was said to be nursing a grouse against the BJP leadership for quite some time, and even expressing his resentment publicly.

He had skipped the party meeting to select candidates in Dehradun on Saturday. As he met a senior Congress leader on Sunday and indicated that he would join the party on Monday, the BJP took action against him.

Similarly, last month, Rawat had left a cabinet meeting and announced his resignation. He threatened to resign demanding a budget for a medical college in assembly constituency Kotdwar and said that Rs 5 crore has been sanctioned for the medical college but with that fund, only the boundary can be constructed.

Two days later, after a dinner meeting between Dhami and Rawat, the Uttarakhand BJP had claimed the crisis created after the latter's threat to resign from the state cabinet had been resolved.

After the meeting, Rawat had said that Dhami is like his "younger brother" and they had a "long relationship." Dhami also tweeted a picture with Mr Rawat at his home for dinner, in an effort to end the speculation about a feud.

State BJP President Madan Kaushik, General Secretary Ajay Kumar, Health Minister Dhan Singh Rawat and MLA Umesh Sharma Kau also attended the meeting.

Elections in Uttarakhand will be held on February 14 with the counting of votes on March 10.