Congress turncoat Ramniwas Rawat sworn-in as Minister in M.P. government

Ramniwas Rawat, former Congress MLA turned BJP Minister, sworn in after oath ceremony confusion in Madhya Pradesh Cabinet.

Ramniwas Rawat, a six-term MLA who dumped the Congress to join the BJP during the Lok Sabha election, was sworn-in as a Minister in the Madhya Pradesh government as Chief Minister Mohan Yadav expanded his Cabinet on Monday.

Mr. Rawat was sworn-in as a Cabinet Minister and the oath of office and secrecy was administered by Government Mangubhai Patel at a ceremony in the Raj Bhawan. The expansion only saw one Minister taking oath.

However, the swearing-in ceremony had to be redone within 15 minutes after Mr. Rawat misread his oath saying “Rajya Mantri” (Minister of State) instead of “Rajya ke Mantri” (State’s Minister), leading to a confusion whether he will be an MoS or a Cabinet Minister.

The error came to notice after officials informed the Chief Minister and the Governor, leading to a second ceremony at another venue in the Raj Bhawan. The first oath was not taken on record.

A prominent OBC leader from the Gwalior-Chambal region, Mr. Rawat joined the BJP on April 30. He represents the Vijaypur Assembly constituency in Sheopur district and had been a Minister in the Digvijaya Singh-led Congress government.

Mr. Rawat’s switch is said to have benefitted the BJP in the Chambal region, especially in the Morena Lok Sabha constituency where the party faced a tough challenge from the Congress. The BJP managed to win it by 52,000 votes. Sheopur district is a part of Morena constituency.

Mr. Rawat resigned from his legislative membership only after taking oath as a Minister and is now expected to contest the byelection on a BJP ticket.