Chief Minister Harish Rawat has distributed 15 daayitva (political appointments) among Congress workers, including five women, on the occasion of his 67th birthday on Monday. Such distribution among a band of dedicated Congress workers who have sweated hard for days on end to publisise the Government achievements among the common people of the State is meant to empower them and also to encourage others to follow the lead. These are gifts back to those who had gathered to celebrate his birthday, sources close to the CM said.
State PCC president Kishore Upadhyaya was present when Rawat named the activists to be bestowed with the empowering appointment. Queried by the media why both CM and PCC president were jointly addressing the media while the empowerment programme was being held, Upadhyaya said the CM can conjure up things that apparently seem impossible.
“Thus it is in the fitness of things that he should make the announcement himself,” he said. State Congress women wing president Sarojini Kaintura was appointed as the chairman of State Women Commission (SWC) while Rajni Rawat, a eunuch was appointed its vice chairperson. Harpal Saathi was appointed the chairman of the Scheduled Caste (SC) Welfare Commission and Almora District congress president Rajendra Barakoti was appointed its deputy chairman. Kiranpal Valmiki was appointed chairman of State Sanitation Employees’ Commission while two other leaders Santosh Gaurav and Sikandar Panwar were appointed as deputy chairmen.
Ex-MlA Gopal Rana and Kailash Rawat were appointed deputy chairmen for Scheduled Tribe Welfare Commission. For UPNl, lt Gen Gambhir Singh Negi was appointed chairman while ex DIG Balram Singh Negi was appointed chairman of Ex Para military Welfare Council. For State Child Rights Protection Commission, Yogendra Khanduri was appointed chairman while Vijay lakshmi Gusain and Pushpa Bhatt were appointed deputy chairmen. Satish John was appointed as deputy chairman of Minority Commission.
Notably, during the recently concluded Vidhan Sabha session, the State Government had passed a Bill about ST Welfare Commission of which the CM would be the chairman and the Home Minister, the co-chairman. This is the first time in 15 years since the State came up that the CM addressed a press conference on his birthday and announced return gifts to the congress workers, the observers said. It is further learnt that the party high command had approved 38 posts, but he has distributed just 17, including Qazi Moiuddin and Chaudhary Rajendra Singh who had been bestowed with appointments a few days ago. Now, 22 more Congress workers will be endowed with the daayitva. They would be appointed after their respective works are fixed. “We do not want to distribute posts sans work,” a senior party leader said.