PNS | DEHRADUN
Terming the submission of Uttarakhand government in the High Court that the student union elections cannot be held this year as unfortunate, former chief minister and senior Congress leader Harish Rawat said that the democratic process in the colleges and the universities will be severely affected by this decision.
Interacting with the media persons at his residence on Friday, Rawat said that it is surprising that the government is blaming the colleges and universities for not holding the student union elections on time. He asked, “Who should have directed the colleges and universities to hold the elections in time? The opposition, the students or the government itself?” The former CM said that the decision of the government will put a mortal blow on the budding young leadership in the universities of the State. He also blamed the State government for throwing the recommendations of the Lyngdoh committee in the dustbin. The former CM appealed to the students to exercise restraint in expressing their anger and said that the society should come forward in condemning the government on the issue.
Rawat also accused the State government of adopting an apathetic attitude towards the contractual workers. He said that the Congress government had made a plan to regularise the services of the UPNL employees and guest teachers in a phased manner but the BJP government has taken no step in this direction in the last eight years. Rawat said that the State government is exploiting its employees who are working in different departments from the last 10 to 18 years. He said that instead of following the order of HC which asked the government for giving equal pay for equal work, the government filed a SLP in the Supreme Court (SC) which has rejected it. The government is now planning to file a review petition in the SC which shows that it is apathetic to the interests of the employees.
The former CM also criticised the State government for failing miserably in its promise to make the roads of the State free of potholes. Rawat said that in the provisional State capital Dehradun which according to the State government is a smart city, the roads are dotted with potholes. He said that one can understand the situation in other parts of the State by observing the pathetic conditions of roads in Smart City Dehradun.
