Thursday, 05 January 2023 | PNS | Dehradun
Former chief minister (CM) Harish Rawat has said that it is an irony that the employees removed from their jobs from Vidhan Sabha are suffering while those responsible for appointing them are continuing to enjoy the fruits of power. He demanded that action should be taken against all leaders including the chief ministers, ministers and politicians for making these appointments. The former CM was interacting with the media persons outside Vidhan Sabha where he had gone to extend his support to the agitating terminated employees of Uttarakhand Vidhan Sabha. Rawat challenged that a motion condemning those responsible for Vidhan Sabha appointments should be brought in the State assembly. He said that the employees who got the jobs are not the culprits because everyone tries to get a job but the real fault vests with those who made these appointments.
He claimed that the entire episode of backdoor appointments in Vidhan Sabha and the removal of ad hoc employees was planned to escape from the questions in the Uttarakhand Subordinate Services Selection Commission (UKSSSC) scam. He said that not one government was at fault in the Vidhan Sabha appointments and if there is any fault then all the governments are at fault. Rawat claimed that the appointments made during his tenure as CM were made after approval from cabinet, finance department and department of personnel.
The terminated employees of Vidhan Sabha are on a path of agitation from the last 17 days. These employees are accusing the speaker Ritu Khanduri for adopting a selective approach and demand that the employees appointed prior to the year 2016 should also be removed from VS secretariat.
They point out that the DK Kotia committee in its report has said that all the appointments in the VS from the year 2000 to 2022 were illegal. It is pertinent to mention here that all the ad hoc employees recruited prior to 2016 were regularised while those recruited in 2016, 2020 and 2021 were terminated by the Speaker Khanduri.
