Friday, 28 April 2023 | Gajendra Singh Negi
Course correction
A series of electoral reversals in the Himalayan State at the hands of a disciplined and enthusiastic political outfit BJP, the Congress party is now treading with extreme caution on the issue of Hindutva. A heady concoction of patriotism and Hindutva coupled with a strong organisational structure has helped the BJP in securing a string of victories at the hustings. It seems that by taking lessons from the past, the Congress party has devised a strategy to counter BJP’s Hindutva card. The silence of the leaders of the grand old party on the stringent stand of the BJP government on the Mazars and the ‘land Jihad’ in the State appears to be part of this revised strategy. Similarly, presence of a galaxy of Congress leaders, including PCC chief Karan Mahara, in a programme organised to pay homage to a famous saint in an Ashram in Haridwar and the invitation extended by veteran Harish Rawat to an ascetic considered close to Sangh Parivar to release his book on Uttarakhandiyat seems to perfectly fit into the new plan of the party.
Seeking power
In an attempt to get an upper hand on the babudom which according to them has become unbridled, a group of ministers in Pushkar Singh Dhami cabinet is consistently lobbying to get the authority to write the ACR of the all- powerful secretaries. Heavyweight minister Satpal Maharaj is particularly vocal on the issue which came up for discussion in a recent meeting of the State cabinet following which the CM directed the chief secretary to prepare a draft of the proposal in this regard to be tabled in the next meeting of cabinet. The power to make entries in the ACR of secretaries might give some authority to the hapless ministers but they should realise that they themselves are responsible for their predicament vis a vis the Babus. They should understand that in- depth knowledge of the issues and functioning of their department would give them real power to control Babus. The power seeking ministers should take lessons from astute Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna who would say that bureaucracy is like a horse which understands its rider as soon as he puts his foot in the stirrup and dislodges him from saddle if it finds the rider incompetent.
Babus bashed
With his cool, affable demeanour, the chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami has created a unique image for himself. However, his sober ways sometimes create a misconception in some people that he is extremely amenable and pliant. In a recent meeting held in the state secretariat to discuss the pace of development projects in the constituencies represented by the leaders of opposition parties in Garhwal region, the CM brushed aside this misconception in a soft yet stern manner. In the meeting the CM gave a dressing down to the officers for coming unprepared. During the course of the meeting, Dhami got perturbed by the behaviour of two senior bureaucrats who instead of paying heed to the proceedings were talking in hushed tones with one another. The visibly annoyed CM curtly said, “If your talk is over then we should proceed further.’’ This stunned all and shocked the Babus, one of whom happened to be very powerful during the TSR regime.
