Candid Notes

Friday, 25 June 2021 | Gajendra Singh Negi | Dehradun

Combatant Rawats

The frontal assault launched by the chairman of the cash rich building and other construction workers welfare board on the powerful minister Harak Singh Rawat and the retaliatory verbal diatribe by the mercurial minister has deepened the fissure lines in the saffron party in the Himalayan state. Since the chairman of the board is a protégé of former CM Trivendra Singh Rawat, the skirmish to gain control over the board has now changed its tenor into a full blown war between the two powerful Rawats of the ruling dispensation. This war of attrition between the two is not only detrimental for the saffron party but also for the incumbent CM Tirath Singh Rawat. With the crucial assembly elections drawing near in a state where the electorate is known to change its political inclinations in every five years any further escalation of the hostilities between the two Rawats of saffron party could be beneficial for the Congress party where yet another Rawat (Harish Rawat) is bracing himself up for a fight which could well be his last hurrah in chequered political career spanning over half a century.

Minister’s predicament

The ongoing pandemic of Covid-19 has virtually brought all activities in the education department of Uttarakhand to a grinding halt. Probably perturbed by this protracted phase of inactivity the education minister has embarked upon a 15 day tour of the schools of the state commencing from July 1 so that the gargantuan department comes out of its virus infused slumber. In the tour the minister would also inaugurate a set of schools named after former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, an activity which can become beneficial in the upcoming elections. It is clear that the minister known for his straightforwardness is desperate to polish his image ahead of elections and apart from the tour plan his recent utterances on the fee regulation act for private schools which is kept on backburner is another such attempt in that direction. It is not difficult to understand the restlessness in the steps of the minister because he heads a department which is biggest in terms of employee strength where it is almost impossible to keep everyone including teachers in good humour. To add to his woes the farmers’ agitation has made him vulnerable in his home turf. History also is not on his side as the education ministers have invariably bitten dust in the electoral battles of the past in the Himalayan state.

Plum Post

Many officers of the health department of the state are said to be eying a plum post the incumbent of which is slated to be transferred.  The lucrative assignment associated with the charge of the store and inventory of the department has become a favourite with the officers in recent times. Some of the more eager Babus with a track record of milking the department are making rounds of the senior officers for this position of their desire. It would be interesting to note what choice the department which at present is under close scrutiny for the role of its officers in the Covid-19 test scam of Kumbh which has rocked the state makes on the much sought after position.