His bête noire former Chief Minister of Uttarakhand ND Tiwari may like it or not but incumbent Harish Rawat goes Tiwari's way by trying to look as a people's Chief Minister. In less than a month's rule, raising bar of maximum age limit from 40 years to 42 years in Uttarakhand services, can be described as the most populist measure of this Harish Rawat led State Government.
The matter of fact is that giving two years' extension by this State Government to the maximum age limit of 40 years in the State services, has raised hopes of thousands of educated but unemployed youths across the mountain state who are at the brink of overage for the Government services and many of them had also discarded their hopes of getting any kind of jobs in the public sector.
More so, opening employment doors by the State Government for many unemployed youths in the education sector has also given rise to activism among thousands of trained but unemployed teachers across the State. It is worth mention here that the education sector particularly basic education sector upto the senior secondary level is the biggest employer in the public sector among various other Government departments in the hill state.
Although the respective Governments have been conducting recruitments in education and other departments through state public service commission time to time, yet recruitment through these competitive examinations conducted by the state public service commission have not come in handy to accommodate thousands of trained B Ed degree holders and other educated youths.
But now the present Harish Rawat led State Government has already opened nearly one thousand opportunities in basic education sector on merit basis for which the eligible candidates have already applied. Besides, the State Government has also announced 10,000 openings in the same basic education sector to accommodate a maximum number of applicants in a phased manner on the same merit basis.
It is worth mention here that keeping in view sentiments of the trained but unemployed teachers, the then ND Tiwari-led State Government also brought special recruitment scheme to accommodate trained, but unemployed teachers or BEd degree holders during 2002 and 2007.
However, the subsequent State Government did not continue with the special scheme to accommodate B Ed degree holders in the education sector rendering thousands of trained teachers jobless. Its impact was quite visible in the 2009 lok Sabha elections when the ruling BJP perhaps not realising the disappointment of thousands of trained but unemployed teachers and due to some other factors lost all the five seats in the hill state. More so, even in the 2012 state assembly polls the ruling BJP did not get the required support making it easier for the Congress to make a comeback to power in Uttarakhand in that year.
The interesting fact is that the N D Tiwari-led State Government also failed to retain power in 2007 despite announcing a few populist measures like special recruitment scheme to give jobs to B Ed degree holders. But the present Harish Rawat led State Government that has succeeded in rekindling hopes among youth by introducing some populist measures, would definitely hope for a positive response from the electorate in the coming general elections ahead, maintain his supporters here.