Friday, 16 July 2021 | Gajendra Singh Negi
Promising start
The impeccable political maturity and administrative astuteness shown by the young chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami in taking decisions has quickly elevated him to the position of the poster boy of the saffron party in the Himalayan state. After being handpicked by the BJP high command in a surprise move for the coveted chair of CM, Dhami impressed everyone in the manner in which he soothed the frayed nerves of senior leaders and ministers who were obviously hurt by his out of turn promotion. He followed it up with swift shunting out of powerful Om Prakash out from the position of head of bureaucracy and anointed S S Sandhu in his place who was heading a plum assignment under Nitin Gadkari at centre. This action of his has brought chills down the spine of bureaucracy of the state which is notorious for being obstinate in character and despotic in action. Dhami’s refusal to allow Kanwad Yatra- associated deeply with religious sentiments of Hindus- in Uttarakhand this year especially after a person like Yogi Adityanath had given a green signal to it has also received widespread appreciation for his resolve of not repeating the fatal mistake committed during the Kumbh in Haridwar.
Analogy backfired
A shocking statement given by a loudmouthed spokesperson of the AAP during the course of a debate on a TV channel has made the leaders of the party scurrying for cover in the Himalayan state. In the heat of the moment during the debate the spokesperson of the party which is trying hard to make its presence felt in the politically bipolar state where power has changed hands between Congress and BJP, compared the people of the state with dogs. The social media platforms became flooded with severe rebukes for the party when the video clip of the spokesperson with the comment went viral. By the time the spokesperson apologised for the derogatory comment made by her, the damage to the image of AAP had been done. It also more or less neutralised the momentum generated by the short visit of Arvind Kejriwal which he made to Dehradun recently. The leaders of the party are now said to be scratching their heads to devise a plan to come out of this rut created by a singular comment.
The Rebuke
A high ranking police officer of the Himalayan state whose media management skills could put any seasoned politician to shame is said to be treading a cautious path these days while interacting with the media persons. It is learnt that the suave and highly efficient officer was conveyed in no uncertain terms from the very top after the change of chief minister in the state that he should curb his innate desire of hogging the limelight and should instead focus on the real thing. The no nonsense attitude adopted by the current dispensation as exemplified in swift removal of top Babu of the state has seems to have its effect as the officer is now keeping a low profile, at least for the time being.
