By Shishir Prashant 
PrashantNews
Dehradun: Uttarakhand Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami on Saturday completed five years in office, becoming only the second Chief Minister of the state to achieve the milestone after Narayan Dutt Tiwari.
Dhami, who is yet to complete his five year tenure as Chief Minister, first took over the top job on July 4, 2021, after the resignation of Tirath Singh Rawat of BJP. After the 2022 Assembly elections, the BJP retained power and reappointed him as Chief Minister, enabling him to complete five years in office which include eight months of his previous tenure. He is also the BJP’s longest-serving Chief Minister in Uttarakhand.
If Dhami remains in office until the Uttarakhand Assembly elections, due early next year, he will become only the second Chief Minister after Narayan Dutt Tiwari to complete a full five-year term in the state.
On the occasion, Dhami unveiled an ambitious vision of making Uttarakhand a fully developed state by 2035.
Launching the fortnight-long ‘Seva, Good Governance and Dedication: Government at Every Doorstep’ campaign in Rishikesh, Dhami said the occasion was not one for celebration but for renewing the government’s commitment to building a self-reliant and prosperous Uttarakhand.
“Our objective is not merely to complete a tenure but to build a harmonious, self-reliant and fully developed Uttarakhand by 2035,” he said, adding that the government was giving top priority to infrastructure, education, healthcare, drinking water, roads, agriculture, tourism, industry, investment, self-employment and the development of border areas.
Expressing gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his guidance and support, Dhami said the trust and blessings of the people of Uttarakhand remained his greatest strength.
Highlighting his government’s achievements, he said the administration had taken several landmark decisions that previous governments lacked the courage to implement. These included the implementation of the Uniform Civil Code, replacing the Madarsa Board with the Uttarakhand State Minority Education Authority, and enacting what he described as the country’s toughest anti-conversion and anti-cheating laws.
Governor Lt Gen (Retd.) Gurmit Singh attended the programme. On the occasion, the Governor and the Chief Minister jointly inaugurated and laid the foundation stones for 51 development projects worth over Rs 219 crore in Dehradun district.