Poet Politician
Even as he remains engrossed in the hectic routine associated with heading one of the biggest ministries in the NaMo cabinet and at the same time keeping himself relevant in the politics of the Himalayan state, literature is the arena where the restless soul of the Netaji finds solace. A prolific writer that he is, the minister’s literary pursuits are enough to put any professional writer to shame for he has authored more than 40 books and has been equally adept in penning down stories and poems. For the sceptics who question as to when and how he finds time to be in the world of words, Netaji has himself asserted that when others sleep he dons his literary hat. Partly due to his literary (?) skills and partly due to the immense power he yields, the astute politician has been felicitated many times as an author. In the latest addition to his already crowded cupboard, an organisation based in London has decided to honour him for his outstanding service to literature. Considering his clout and affinity for accolades, Netaji who is recipient of D.Litt. from a Colombo based varsity which his critics claim is a nonexistent university many more awards are waiting to be conferred on him.
Congress Chaos
The issue of return of the deserters back to the party’s fold has broadened the fissure lines in the principal opposition party in the Himalayan state. Not prepared to forgive the turncoats who took part in a dramatic mutiny on the floor of the assembly and which ultimately led to one of the nastiest defeat of the Congress party in the assembly elections of 2017, the former CM and the only stalwart left in the party today, Harish Rawat is dead against the re-entry of the rebels in the party. Others like incumbent PCC president and the LoP in the state assembly who also are bête noire of Harish Rawat appear in favour of re induction of these leaders into the party as according to them it would strengthen the Congress in the state. It seems rather funny that the Congress leaders are washing the dirty linen in public on the issue even as no rebel has shown any interest to defect from the saffron party as of now. The squabble among Congress leaders is a classic case of counting chickens before they hatch and has widened the grin on the faces of leaders of BJP especially TSR.
Covid connection
The latest surge in the number of Covid-19 cases in the National Capital Region (NCR) of Delhi has made the administration of Uttarakhand cautious. It is learnt that the Himalayan state was contemplating to open the centres of higher education in the last week of this month and the proposal was ready for acceptance by the cabinet but the third wave of the disease in Delhi made the authorities wary and it was decided to postpone the issue for the time being. Interestingly the schools in the state were opened on November 2 and are functioning with necessary precautions but the colleges and universities are still closed which makes one wonder whether the college students are more vulnerable than college kids. Two different sets of action on similar issues by different departments clearly show discordance in governance and lack of a proper plan on the part of the authorities.
Friday, 20 November 2020 | Gajendra Singh Negi | Dehradun
