Red-tape rut
The propensity of Babudom to make simple things complex and enmesh things in the messy system is well- known. The fondness of the Babus for the same has come up again as regards the recently launched Ayushman Bharat Yojana, touted as ‘Modi Care’ on the lines of ‘Obama Care’ by the over-zealous followers of PM Modi, hoping that the mega health insurance scheme would act as a game changer for BJP. In Uttarakhand, CM Trivendra Singh Rawat has declared that all the families of the state would be covered under the scheme. Things sound simple, but the Babus are not happy. They have rolled out an elaborate and tangled plan for identification of the beneficiaries through multi-layered surveys. One wonders over the efficacy of the mammoth and costly exercise when a simple thing like making sure that the patient is a resident of the state at the time of hospitalisation can perfectly serve the purpose.
Clueless Congres
The Congress state president Pritam Singh may pat himself on his back on what he lauded as a splendid performance of the party lawmakers in the recently concluded monsoon session. But the fact that the Congress legislature party presented itself as a confused team, sans clarity about its role, can hardly be wished away through triumphal drum beating. Many say and rightly too that the team has inadvertently played a friendly opposition despite having multiple issues to bare fangs on the government. The lack of coordination was glaring on the last day when the Congress legislators boycotted the assembly proceedings on issue of Lokpal. What happened is that a Congress MLA from Purola, Raj Kumar attended the post- lunch session while others of his camp were absent. When the party brass realised things they rushed emissaries to the solitary party MLA, asking him to immediately come out of the House. For an impartial observer, the party’s lack of verve to tear into the government on issues given to them on a platter is unmistakable. Their failure to latch on to the daring daylight murder of a trader which happened in the CM’s constituency when the house was in session tells the tale.
Quirky fortune
Some people frequenting the corridors of power in the Himalayan state are deriving sadistic pleasure from the plight of the two IAS officers suspended in the multi- crore NH- 74 compensation scam. The spectacle of the once mighty officers making frantic rounds around the state secretariat to get hold of certain documents which they hope would help them in the tough legal battle ahead is indeed delectable. What is more, the quirky change of fortunes has made some officers- who till yesterday were delighted to supinely do the bidding of the IAS duo- to thwart their desperate attempts to get hold of the documents. Their woe has been compounded further as their attempts to get some papers through Right to Information (RTI) Act too have fallen flat. The once mighty, now embattled Babus are now understanding the predicament of the common people who are used to making futile rounds along the serpentine alleys of the Babudom’s edifice to get simple things done.