Friday, 10 January 2024 | Gajendra Singh Negi
PPP pout
The decision of the government of the Himalayan State to hand over the operation of the newly commissioned Government Medical College Haridwar to a private player under the public private partnership (PPP) mode has evoked sharp response from various quarters. Though the Medical Education department was quick to allay the fears of a fee hike of the students, questions are swirling over the propriety of the decision to hand over a medical college and hospital constructed at a cost of about Rs 640 crore of public money to a private company. Things appear all the more intriguing, given the State Health department’s bitter experiences with private partners in PPP- operated government hospitals in the past. The Health minister Dhan Singh Rawat’s decision to end the system of PPP mode in the operations of the State-based hospitals is still vivid in public memory. The State government is claiming that the move will help it save crores of rupees; but the people are unconvinced, given their experiences of the private players tending to fleece them with profit making being their sole agenda.
Pithoragarh puzzle
The election of the Municipal Corporation of Pithoragarh is proving to be the Achilles heel for the Uttarakhand Congress already battered by a series of defections and rebellion in many parts of the State. The grand old party has nominated formidable Anju Lunthi as its mayoral candidate which prompted a party veteran Mathura Dutt Joshi- who had been seeking mayoral ticket for his wife- to jump into the saffron bandwagon in a fit of rage. Local strongman and MLA from Pithoragarh, Mayukh Mahar has also thrown a gauntlet to the party brass by openly supporting the candidature of a Congress rebel from the picturesque border town. The Congress leadership keeps dithering on taking disciplinary action against the recalcitrant MLA as it involves a long- drawn constitutional process in the State assembly. Further, Mahar is a strong leader with a clout in Kumaon’s political landscape and a weak leadership appears to lack the requisite courage to crack the whip.
Star power
The surprise inclusion of the name of the Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath in the list of star campaigners released by BJP’s State unit for the upcoming ULB polls shows the seriousness the saffron party is according to the polls. After inducing switch of many leaders from opposition Congress into its camp, the BJP brass focussed on reining in resentment brewing in their own party over the distribution of tickets. Moreover, resolved to keep its urban forts intact, the BJP handed over the task of ensuring victories to its senior leaders, including former chief ministers, MPs, cabinet ministers and battle-hardened veterans. The initial works being over, it is now out to unleash its star campaigners, including the Hindutva poster boy Yogi Adityanath and chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami, to add further teeth to its cutting edge.
