Secretary’s dilemma
In 2013, the then chief secretary Alok Kumar Jain faced the blows of their arrogance. Now, a secretary of the Secretariat Administration (SAD) is at the receiving ends of the same. Things might turn worse for him and the discipline they are tasked to enforce in the coming days as the Chief Minister Harish Rawat has his gaze fixed on the upcoming Assembly election. Mention worthy, the secretary had lodged an FIR against the members of the secretary employees’ union after the latter, inspired by their fire-spewing newly elected secretary, had broken the lock of the spacious room on the ground floor of the chief minister’s office (CMO) they are claiming as belonging to theirs. This happened after the secretary refused to give them access to the room by keeping it locked. He might have thought that if the pranksters are indulged in too much they might land the State government top brass in trouble. Things are now turning dramatic on the FIR. Despite police having submitted its final report (FR) on the FIR, the State government has left the secretary in the lurch by asking him to withdraw the FIR. He is in terrible dilemma. On one hand, all the bureaucrats are resentful of the queer governmental fiat, and, on the other, the employee union leaders, long used to sabre -rattling, are elated , hoping that they would cut the ‘egoistic’ secretary to size. How the frost would thaw finally nobody knows. However, stakes are high. If the secretary is forced to kowtow it would deal a crippling blow to the authority of the bureaucrats and if he wins it would infuriate the mighty unionists who would leave no stone un-turned to turn the table on the ruling dispensation when the opportunity comes with the ensuing Assembly election drawing near
CPU and easy bucks
City Patrol Unit (CPU), formed with fanfare to check on- the- road offences like chain snatching and eve–teasing, seems to have fixed its gaze exclusively on the motorists especially the two-wheeler riders, something that swell its coffers with easy bucks collected at the expenses of those caught defying rules. There are some among the top brass in police who are glorifying its role as the restorer of rule on the road, crushing the law- breakers to a pulp. However, the common people who are at the receiving end of the grim-visaged traffic rule enforcers’ challan blows are resentful of the CPU, for they are paying no attention to other things they are tasked to enforce. For instance, traffic snarl is a daily anathema for the denizens of Dehradun. They are caring a damn to end the ordeal on the roads the commuters have been facing. They are inclined to baring fangs on the hapless motorists, but when the political rallies are on with the participants trampling upon the traffic norms with impunity they take to their heels to be ‘politically correct.” The people are justified in saying that if they choose to confine themselves to penalizing the errant motorists what is the use of the unit sporting firearms and using vehiclesIJ CPU ruling the roost on the roads, traffic police have turned conspicuous by their invisibility. Ironically, whenever traffic jam happens district police becomes the butt of ridicule. But they have no role on this count with CPU having usurped it. Besides, their arrogance has assumed gigantic proportions. This is, however, expected as they are answerable to none other than the DGP. They are even catching the district police chief with chaff as they know nobody save the DGP whose dream children they are can touch their royal hair.