Congress puts question mark over efficacy of expert committee
Friday, 16 September 2022 | PNS |DEHRADUN
The Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president Karan Mahara has said that the three member expert committee constituted by the Vidhan Sabha speaker on controversial appointments has its limitations. He said that the committee comprises former IAS officer D K Kotia (who is also the chairman of the State Health Authority), AS Nayan (member of Uttarakhand Public Service Commission) and Surendra Singh Rawat (former Information commissioner).
He said that in such a situation a fair investigation by the people who have served under the government is under doubt. The PCC president said that since Vidhan Sabha is a constitutional body and only the High Court or Supreme Court is empowered to conduct any investigation in its issues. He added that the information regarding the investigation of the committee is getting public which poses a question mark on the secrecy. Mahara said that since Vidhan Sabha is a constitutional body the committee apart from looking into the legitimacy of the recruitments should also look into moral aspects of these appointments. He also stressed that the committee should investigate all appointments made in Vidhan Sabha from the year 2000 and should not limit itself to post 2012 appointments.
The PCC president said that the fact that Uttarakhand Vidhan Sabha secretariat has more than 560 employees which is more than 543 of the neighbouring Uttar Pradesh speaks volumes about the irregularities in appointments here.
He demanded the investigation into the controversial appointments in Uttarakhand Vidhan Sabha should be done under the supervision of a sitting judge of the High Court.
