Irony of fate
In a queer twist of things, a redoubtable political leader, an MP who once ran Uttarakhand as the Chief Minister, is now literally begging funds to ensure that his personal staffs are paid their dues. As per the norms, a former Chief Minister is entitled to have two to three personal staff and their salary taken together must not exceed `85000 per month.
Interestingly, the State has five former CMs — Bhagaat Singh Koshyari, ND Tiwari, Maj Gen Bhuwan Chandra Khanduri, Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank and Vijay Bahuguna. For four of them, things are smooth. Curiously enough, things are grim for only one of them. And more grotesquely, the hapless ex- CM has been bearing the brunt of things over the past one year. His predicament is such that the Babu who used to stand supinely before him during the latter’s heyday is now showing red eye.
The former boss of the State is now busy appealing supplicantly for his dues. He is frantically sending queries one after another while attaching RTI reply that says that except that leader, all other former CMs have received their dues till January 2015. However, things are not thawing for him.
Mitra Police in a spot
Despite enjoying the enviable status of Mitra (friendly) Police, it looks as though Uttarakhand Police cannot care less for the plight of the rape survivors of the State.
However, they do not lose even a single opportunity to brag that they are exceedingly humane to the rape survivors many of whom are minors. The stark fact is that not a single of the victims of sexual assault has been imparted counselling.
Ironically Deobhoomi is over-brimming with NGOs, but they are not coming forward of their own wish to counsel the victims. As per the data available, 245 rape cases happened in 2014, 205 in 2013 and 137 in 2012.
Even now, such cases are on the spiral. If we compare figures it reveals that such cases have seen a jump of around 90 per cent between 2012 and 2014. Although the State Government goes out of its way to empathise with the rape survivors they are sitting tight on an imperative remaining ignored.
Hospitals sans docs
The Chief Minister dishing out developmental assurances has become a thorn in the flesh of the Public Account Committee that has an Opposition MlA in the chair. That MlA spewed venom on the Babus present at a recent PAC meet, asking them to desist from opening new hospitals when they cannot procure doctors to run them rightly.
When you cannot provide for doctors what is the need of having some vacuous structures erected to ridicule the people in dire need of medical facilities, he asked.
The nonplused Babus chose to keep mum. For, none knows things better than themselves that the fount of the problem is the head of the state government who has made it a habit to endear himself to the people at large by rolling out flamboyant and financially unviable assurances. Such assurance spree is spawning resentment in the public representatives and the bureaucrats alike. But nobody knows how to stem the tide as the CM is incorrigibly bent on going his own chivalrous way.