Bypoll winners sworn-in as members of state assembly

Three-newly elected Congress MLAs in Uttarakhand, including Chief Minister Harish Rawat, were sworn-in on Monday as members of the state assembly by Speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal.

Rawat, Hira Singh Bisht and Rekha Arya took the oath at a simple ceremony held in the Speaker's chamber in Vidhan Bhawan here.

Talking to reporters soon after being sworn-in as an MLA, the Chief Minister said the state government will work with renewed vigour to fulfil aspirations of the people who have reposed faith in the Congress.

In a big morale booster for the party after the Lok Sabha poll rout in which it had lost all five seats to BJP in the state, Congress won all the three assembly seats where

bypolls were held on July 21.

Rawat won from Dharchula, a seat vacated for him by party MLA Harish Dhami, while Hira Singh Bisht and Rekha Arya wrested Doiwala and Someshwar seats respectively from BJP.

Their victory took the Congress' strength in the state assembly from 32 to 35, just one short of a majority in the 70-member House.

The Chief Minister said the state government has already set its priorities including effective implementation of the food security scheme from which 62 per cent of the

state's population stands to benefit.

He said the state government will soon launch a similar scheme for those not covered under the ambit of the central scheme.

A team has already been constituted to regularly monitor the progress of the scheme and District Magistrates asked to ensure that cards reach the beneficiaries within a given time frame.

Rawat announced that a Universal Health Insurance Scheme will also be launched soon in the state.