Friday, 10 September 2021 | Gajendra Singh Negi
Promises galore
With chief minister Pushkar Singh Dhami slogging it out to make the most out of the limited time he was given to play at the political crease of Uttarakhand, sops are raining in the Himalayan state during the ongoing monsoon period. If implemented in word and spirit these pre-election promises and packages directed to keep different sections in good humour are bound to create a gaping hole in an already tattered pocket of the state. Amid unleashing of these sops by the government and plethora of populist promises which include free electricity and others made by the opposition no one is giving an iota of thought to the fact that the state would be deprived of the all important GST compensation given by the union government from next year. A five year time slot was given by the union government to the states to generate their own resources and it had made the provision of compensating the loss incurred by the states for implementing the GST regime. For Uttarakhand this compensation constitutes a lion’s share of its revenue. Oblivious of this glaring fact the leaders of the state are busy playing the game of political brinkmanship and trying hard to outsmart one another in making promises.
Paternal care
The sons and daughters of the high and mighty have to pay a price for their genes as their actions are always under public scrutiny. Many times this scrutiny is so intense that it is difficult for their high profile parents to use their influence for the benefit of their wards. In one such case an influential leader of the saffron party holding a constitutional position in the Himalayan state is finding it difficult to settle his son who curiously holds a special affinity for a job associated with the government. He was first recruited in a government department through the official manpower supplying agency supposedly meant to create job opportunities for the ex servicemen and their wards but when things became public a hasty retreat was made. Now when the name of this boy found a place in the list of advisors to the CM – though the name of the father was left blank in the list- objections again were raised and the order for the appointment of the poor son of Netaji was withdrawn. Life is sometimes difficult even for entitled kids.
True colours
With the crucial assembly elections drawing nearer in Uttarakhand, the political chameleons in Uttarakhand have started showing their true colours. Throwing their ideologies to the wind, these politicians are now weighing their options very carefully and the game of threatening, coercion, ganging up and shaking hands with new partners has started. While Harish Rawat succeeded in netting in a prominent leader with RSS background for the Congress party the ruling BJP had a prized catch in form of heavyweight Pritam Singh Panwar. The leaders of the Congress background within the saffron party too have started singing in rebellious tones with Raipur MLA Umesh Sharma Kau openly asserting that if he is continued to be niggled further, he would take a decision after consulting things with his group (read former Congressmen inside BJP). With Kau finding open support of cabinet ministers Harak Singh Rawat and Satpal Maharaaz the political cauldron in the state continues to simmer.
