India has no lack of haunted and cursed places. There are literally tourism packages to visit all these spooky places. However, the recent resignation of a Uttarakhand minister has brought the limelight back to a government bungalow and claims that it could be jinxed.
Again, superstition is not unique, especially in politics and sports. Many people believe in various beliefs, choosing to follow them or prevent them to ensure that their lives go smoothly.
Similarly, the Uttarakhand political circle also seems to believe in some, such as the one about how whichever party wins the Gangotri seat will form the state’s government and the other is that the official residence for the Chief Minister of the state is jinxed as anyone who resides has rarely if ever completed a full term.
This has come back into the light after cabinet minister Premchand Agrawal recently submitted his resignation from his post.
Is The R-2 Bungalow Cursed?
Premchand Aggarwal moved into the R-2 bungalow in 2022 after winning the Uttarakhand Assembly election and becoming the Minister of Finance for the Government of Uttarakhand.
Now, although the tenure of a State Finance Minister is usually aligned with the term of the state legislative assembly which is usually 5 years, Agarwal recently resigned from his position after a controversy followed in the wake of his comments against the ‘pahadi’ or people from the hills.
During the budget session, he reportedly said the “state does not belong exclusively to the ‘pahadis’ (hill people).”
This was met with a lot of backlash and Agarwal soon after resigned as cabinet minister.
However, besides the controversy over his remarks, this incident has once again started the discussion about how the R-2 residence is jinxed or cursed for the ministers who live there.
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According to reports, the R-2 bungalow located in Yamuna Colony was initially built when Uttar Pradesh was still undivided and was meant for officers of the irrigation department.
This changed in 2000 when Uttarakhand was formed and the house was allotted for ministers, senior officials, speakers, and other such dignitaries. But soon enough it started to gain the reputation of bringing misfortune to its occupants.
The first ‘victim’ of this house was Irrigation Minister Shoorveer Singh Sajwan who moved into the house in 2002 after being allotted it by then Chief Minister Narayan Dutt Tiwari. However, in just two years, that being July 2004 he was let go from his position before completing his first term.
This was due to the Constitution (91st Amendment) Act, 2003 that stated the “total number of ministers, including CM, in the council of ministers, shall not exceed 15% of the total number of members of the assembly.”
The next tenant of the house was Congress MLA Harak Singh Rawat in 2007 as the leader of the opposition. He even managed to stay there as he completed his term and remained a resident even after becoming a minister in 2012.
However, in 2016 he along with a few other Congres MLAs revolted against the Harish Rawat government and defected to BJP. He was removed from his post and could not complete his term. He once again returned as a minister when BJP came to office in 2017, however, he resigned from his position just before the 2022 assembly polls and rejoined Congress.
Political analyst Jay Singh Rawat has also commented on this jinx saying, “While Harak Singh Rawat managed to complete five years in this bungalow as leader of opposition, every minister who has lived here has failed to serve a full term. It has now become somewhat of a political jinx. It remains to be seen who will be allotted this bungalow next.”
Image Credits: Google Images
Sources: Deccan Herald, The Week, The Economic Times
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This post is tagged under: Uttarakhand, Uttarakhand minister, Uttarakhand minister resign, Uttarakhand r-2, Uttarakhand r-2 bungalow, Premchand Agrawal, Premchand Agrawal resign, Premchand Agrawal uttarakhand minister, Premchand Agrawal minister resign, Uttarakhand Political Superstition, Chief Minister residence Uttarakhand, Uttarakhand government
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