Monday, 05 September 2022 | PNS | DEHRADUN
Appointments made during Khanduri’s term as CM also questionable- Dasauni
The Congress chief spokesperson of the State, Garima Mehra Dasauni, responding to statements made by the Vidhan Sabha speaker Ritu Khanduri, said that her statements may show the will and determination but at the same time some of her statements are also self contradictory. Questioning what she termed a selective probe into appointments in the Vidhan Sabha, the Congress spokesperson said that the expressions of the opposition should not be considered negative or simply opposition as these need to be viewed with a positive and cooperative viewpoint.
Dasauni said, “During the time when questionable recruitments and appointments in the Vidhan Sabha were exposed, the speaker was on a foreign tour while the people of Uttarakhand were looking forward expectantly to her return and eager to know her views. There is no doubt that the persons appointed to the special committee by the speaker to probe the appointments have a clean image and favour justice. However, it is questionable when the speaker talks of a selective probe. The people of Uttarakhand have run out of patience and now want to know the entire truth.”
She further said that a probe into appointments in the Vidhan Sabha should have been undertaken from the time of the creation of Uttarakhand till the present. However, a probe from 2012 till the present appears to be illogical. “Two former Vidhan Sabha speakers, Prakash Pant and Harbans Kapoor are no longer alive but there are questions regarding the appointments to the Vidhan Sabha from 2007 to 2012. During the tenure of BC Khanduri as chief minister his right hand man and the then tourism advisor Prakash Suman Dhyani’s daughter, Khanduri’s close acquaintance Maheshwar Bahuguna’s son, Dehradun mayor Sunil Uniyal Gama’s wife, cabinet minister Subodh Uniyal’s brother in-law and the current BJP State president Mahendra Bhatt’s brother were appointed to various posts in the Vidhan Sabha. These appointments are questionable. It is now time to ascertain the identities of the people who had duped Uttarakhand in the past too,” she said.
The Congress spokesperson further expressed hope that the Vidhan Sabha speaker will give a free hand to the committee members probing the appointments. The probe should be target-based so that the inquiry report comes out in the public domain as early as possible. The stand of the Congress has been clear on this issue from the start. Whoever has played mischief in the appointments and recruitments should not be spared, irrespective of his or her connections, added Dasauni.
