Pushkar Dhami sworn in as member of U'khand Assembly after Champawat win

Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami was sworn in as a member of the Uttarakhand Assembly here on Monday, ten days after he won the Champawat Assembly bypoll with a record margin.

The oath of office was administered to Dhami by State Assembly Speaker Ritu Khanduri in the assembly auditorium in the presence of his cabinet colleagues, MLAs and party leaders.

Dhami had won the Champawat bypoll on June 3 by more than 55,000 votes.

He was sworn in as a member of the House just a day before the Budget Session of the state assembly begins on Tuesday.

Addressing the swearing-in function, Dhami thanked the people of Champawat for giving him such a huge mandate and Prime Minister Narendra Modi for giving an ordinary party worker like him -- a soldier's son with a simple background--the opportunity to serve the state as "Mukhya Sevak".

He said his attention now is focused on developing Uttarakhand as a leading state by the year 2025 when it celebrates 25 years of its existence. He said his eyes are set on achieving this goal.

"Like Arjun, all I can see is the goal that lies ahead of me," Dhami said.

"But achieving this goal is not my personal journey. It is a collective journey. I am not the only one to take oath today. With me everyone who wants the development of Uttarakhand has taken oath. Hence, propelling the state towards that goal is our collective responsibility," he said.

Dhami once again said how according top priority to a pre-poll promise, his cabinet at its very first meeting decided to constitute a committee to draft a Uniform Civil Code.

"We have already taken a step in that direction by constituting a committee headed by retired Supreme Court Judge Ranjana Desai. A draft will soon be prepared by the panel which after talking to all stakeholders will be implemented in the state. We even expect other states to follow suit and implement a Uniform Civil Code," he said.