DEHRA DUN, Nov 11 — The Chief Minister of Uttaranchal inducted all the three MLAs of the interim assembly who did not turn up for taking the oath on Friday into his Council of Ministers today. They were administered oath of secrecy by the Governor, Mr Surjit Singh Barnala. The strength of ministry has now gone up to 13, including the CM.

But the internal problems of the BJP legislature party refuse to come to an end as nine MLAs out of the total 23 again boycotted the swearing-in ceremony.

Mr Bhagat Singh Koshiyari, State president of the BJP, and Mr Ramesh Chandra Pokhriyal, former minister in the UP Government, were sworn in as Cabinet ministers. The third — Mr Narayan Dass to be sworn in as the state minister — came more than 20 minutes late.

Later, while talking to The Tribune, Mr Dass said the CM called him up last night to discuss problems. He said that the only reason why he did not take oath on Friday was that he was listed last among the State ministers. Even the newcomers were listed ahead of him. It is worth mentioning that Dass was already a State minister in the UP Government and was holding the portfolio of Excise and Taxation.

Meanwhile, the dissident MLAs met here today and decided not to take part in the oath-taking ceremony. In fact, Mr Dass was also present in this meeting but under the pressure of Mr Swami’s loyalists he joined the Council of Ministers. The nine MLAs under the leadership of Mr Lakhi Ram Joshi, MLA from Tehri, have decided not to join any key post under the leadership of Mr Swami. They also handed over a resentment letter to the State BJP leadership and asked it to forward it to the party high command. They have already demanded the resignation of Mr Nityanand Swami.

The growing dissidence among the BJP legislators speaks a lot about the goings-on in the BJP legislature party. Even at the moment of joy of the formation of a new State, the leaders do not appear to be ready to reconcile on their common interests. Mr Tilak Raj Beharh, an MLA from Haldwani checked out from the MLA hostel last night and said that he will not come to Dehra Dun until Swami is removed from the post of CM. The people of Haldwani have called for a bandh on Sunday in protest against Mr Swami not inducting Beharh as minister.