Friday, 18 July 2025 | Gajendra Singh Negi
Election villain
The image of the State Election Commission, a statutory body mandated to conduct Panchayat and Urban Local Bodies (ULBs) elections, has taken a severe battering in Uttarakhand due to its controversial decision on allowing the candidates having names in the voter lists of Panchayats and ULBs to contest the ongoing Panchayat elections. As expected, the decision was challenged in the Uttarakhand High Court on the grounds that it violated the Representation of the People Act -1950 and Uttarakhand Panchayai Raj Act -2016. The court ordered a stay on the order of the SEC but refused to intervene in the process of elections.
The absurdity of the controversial order of the SEC can be understood from the fact that the voter lists of both the Panchayat and ULBs are prepared by it and its decision to allow candidates having names in both the voter lists to contest Panchayat elections is akin to accepting its own folly in the preparation of the voter lists.
Pertinently, hundreds of the candidates having names in voter lists of ULBs are contesting the Panchayat elections and the naive and imprudent SEC has created grounds for a situation where a large number of elections of such candidates will be challenged in the court. In such a scenario, it is very likely that the grassroots democracy in the villages will get entangled in legal hassles.
Rough ride
The chopper ride to Kedarnath on July 14 by the Badrinath Kedarnath Temple Committee (BKTC) chairman Hemant Dwivedi seems to have landed him in trouble. Dwivedi, who was appointed on the coveted position of chairman of the temple committee in May this year probably decided to flaunt his new found status when he boarded a helicopter of the Heritage Aviation Company with some of his friends for visiting the Kedarnath shrine. This sortie came under scanner as it was carried out in gross violation of the ban order issued by the Uttarakhand Civil Aviation Development Authority (UCADA) during the rainy season this year. This embargo was imposed on the directive of Directorate General of Civil Aviation (DGCA) following a series of helicopter accidents during the peak of pilgrim season in the Char Dham this year. A red-faced UCADA has now ordered a probe into the incident. Interestingly, Dwivedi has reportedly blamed the helicopter company for agreeing to fly him despite the ban which reflects his obstinate behaviour and high headedness.
Colonel’s largesse
The decision of Colonel Ajay Kothiyal to surrender an annual sum of about Rs 26 lakh entitled to him in his capacity as the chairperson of an advisory council meant for the welfare of the ex- servicemen of the State has earned kudos from various quarters. In a letter to the director of Soldier Welfare, Kothiyal has requested the government that the money entitled to him under different heads should be used for the welfare of the ex- servicemen. The retired officer said that he receives a handsome amount of money in pension and allowances of his gallantry awards and that he has joined politics as part of a mission to serve the society.
It is interesting to note that in the letter, Kothiyal has also mentioned that he is yet to get an office in absence of budget for its establishment and offered to bear this expense personally so that there is no further delay in establishment of the office. The plight of the officer underlies the apathetic attitude of babudom towards welfare of ex-servicemen in the State.
