Friday, 04 November 2022 | Gajendra Singh Negi
Cold feet
It appears as if the honourable MLAs of the Himalayan state develop cold feet at mere mention of Gairsain. Since Uttarakhand which has a debt burden of more than Rs 85,000 crore on its shoulders has the luxury of having two Vidhan Sabha buildings, there is always speculation ahead of every session on the place where it would be held. As the winter session of assembly is due shortly, the old dilemma of Dehradun or Gairsain has surfaced again for the government. Amid this dilemma and speculation one BSP and two independent MLAs have strongly batted in favour of the Dehradun. In their letters to the CM these MLAs have stated that it would not be proper to hold session in Gairsain during the peak of winters. It is learnt that the government has made up its mind to ignore the claim of Gairsain- the summer capital and the much hyped symbol of statehood movement- once again and hold the session in Dehradun which is the preferred choice of the majority. Interestingly the lawmakers of the state have been away from the imposing assembly building in Bharadisain ever since the former CM Trivendra Singh Rawat was given marching orders during the middle of the budget session in March 2021.
Cold war
The initiation of investigation by the economic offences wing of the State police against a finance company said to be owned by the economic adviser of the former CM Trivendra Singh Rawat implies that the bonhomie generated between the BJP bigwigs, CM Pushkar Singh Dhami and TSR a was short-lived affair. The two met after a long time during the festival of Deepawali when Dhami made it a point to visit the residences of all his predecessors of the saffron party in Dehradun. It is believed that the Maharashtra governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari whose high profile stay in Doon generated a lot of political dust and raised eyebrows was instrumental in bridging the gap between the two leaders who once were considered to be his protégées. Political observers opine that the registration of the case against the person who called shots during the regime of TSR is part of the ongoing game of political one-upmanship in the saffron party.
Course correction
In an interesting case showcasing the empowerment of the three tier Panchayati Raj system, the president of the district Panchayat of Rudraprayag Amardei Shah was re-elected to her position recently. She was removed by a no confidence motion in the 18 member house last year in which 14 district Panchayat members voted against her. Shah was re-elected again on the chair with an apparent change of heart of those who a few months ago had accused her of financial irregularities and had supported the no confidence motion against her. The cynics are now claiming that money played an important part in this change of heart of the members of the district panchayat but one should appreciate the manner in which the democracy is getting strengthened at the grassroots in the Himalayan state where the elected representatives seems to have learned the art their mentors have perfected.
