Questionable appointments in Assembly: Agarwal rejects reports, says not summoned by BJP high command
Friday, 02 September 2022 | PNS | Dehradun
Rejecting reports in some media outlets speculating that the central leadership of the BJP has summoned him to New Delhi, the Finance minister Prem Chand Agarwal has said that some people are involved in a conspiracy to malign his image. The speculation and Agarwal’s denial comes at a time when appointments to various posts in the Vidhan Sabha and government departments are eliciting considerable criticism and questions even while the Special Task Force continues to arrest persons accused of involvement in leaking the Uttarakhand Subordinate Services Selection Commission (UKSSSC) question paper.
Responding to the questions of media persons in Mussoorie where he had gone to attend a programme on Thursday, Agarwal said that there is no truth in the reports that he has been summoned to Delhi. The minister and former speaker of the Vidhan Sabha said that he would be in Delhi on Friday (September 2) to participate in a meeting. He said that a meeting of chief ministers is scheduled in Delhi on the day and Uttarakhand CM Pushkar Singh Dhami has nominated him to participate in the meeting as his representative.
He reiterated that all the appointments made in Uttarakhand Vidhan Sabha during his tenure as the speaker are as per the rules and regulations. Agarwal said that he is not concerned about what former speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal did or what former CM Harish Rawat is saying on Vidhan Sabha appointments. He said that the state is under debt of Rs 75,000 crore and he is working in coordination with the Union government on this front.
It is pertinent to mention here that the role of former speaker Agarwal has come under public scrutiny following allegations of corruption in the ad hoc appointments in Uttarakhand Vidhan Sabha. A total of 72 appointments on ad hoc basis were made during his tenure and the list included the names of the Public Relation Officers (PROs) of the ministers, relatives of the Officers on Special Duty (OSDs) of the chief minister and the senior functionaries of BJP and RSS. Interestingly during the tenure of Agarwal the Vidhan Sabha secretariat had released an advertisement for recruitment of 35 personnel and an agency was selected for recruiting the candidates from among more than 8,000 applicants. This agency conducted the examination but its result was not declared. Meanwhile the Vidhan Sabha recruited 72 ad hoc employees on different posts in December 2021. After their appointment the model code of conduct was imposed in the State on account of the assembly elections. The salaries of these 72 employees (said to be appointments of favour) were released on March 30 this year, a day after Prem Chand Agarwal took charge of the finance portfolio in the Pushkar Singh Dhami government.
