Hurt by the State Government’s recent move to reverse the earlier decision to name the newly constructed auditorium in the state secretariat after former bureaucrat Raghunandan Singh Tolia, 100 prominent personalities of the state, including senior bureaucrats, social workers, scientists and educationalists, have asked the state government not to go for the change. Notably, the state government on August 15 this year announced that the auditorium in the secretariat would be named after the legendary Veer Chandra Singh Garhwali.
In a letter written to the chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat, these eminent men and women have cited the resolution passed by the state cabinet following Tolia’s death on December 8, 2016, stating that the state would continue to hold the services rendered by him for its development in grateful remembrance. They further said in the letter that on the same day, the cabinet had also decided that the auditorium – then under construction- in the Vishwakarma building of the secretariat would be named after Tolia. Expressing anguish over the state government’s recent decision of not naming the auditorium after Tolia, they said that the move amounted to an insult heaped on him. The unsavoury episode has not just insulted Tolia but the controversy that the move triggered has also insulted the revered memory of Veer Chandra Singh Garhwal, the letter said.
In the letter, the personalities belonging to different fields have said that the state government had various options like naming any building or institute after Garhwali but its decision to rename the building is very unfortunate.
Those who have signed the letter include former chief secretaries- S K Das, Vibha Puri Das and N S Naplachyal-, scientist A N Purohit, retired officer of Indian Police Service J S Pandy, retired director general Health Dr I S Pal, chairman SC ST welfare committee C S Gwal, former principal secretary N Ravi Shankar, social scientist B K Joshi and former professors Kumaon University Shekhar Pathak and Uma Bhatt.