Candid Notes
Promotion beckons
Recent surge in the activities of a junior Minister of the Himalayan State which involved a series of review meetings with officials not even distantly related to the departments assigned to him coupled with the new found spring in his stride suggests that a promotion is on the cards for him. Given the fact that three berths of Cabinet-ranked Ministers are at present lying vacant in the ‘Team TSR’, the speculation about imminent elevation in the rank of the junior Minister is not unfounded. His long stint in the party organisation of the BJP, immaculate organisational skills and proximity with those calling the shots in the saffron party at national level often prompts his supporters that their leader has all the attributes to become a face of the party in future. The excess representation of Ministers from Garhwal region of the State can be the only deterrent factor in otherwise smooth sailing for the diminutive leader.
Name Game
The name change syndrome which saw a spurt in recent times owing to politico-religious reasons has caught up with the Himalayan State also with the Chief Minister making his intention clear to rechristen Kotdwar town. The important town considered as an entry point of Garhwal hills would be renamed as ‘Kanvanagari Kotdwar’. It is good that the Uttarakhand Government has kept ‘Kotdwar’ intact while renaming the town and prefixing Kanvanagar with it in the honour of the celebrated saint Kanva who is said to have lived in the area around present day Kotdwar town. One feels pride in the fact that our country derived its name from legendary King Bharat who, along with his mother Shakuntala, lived at the Ashram of Kanva in his childhood. One hopes that the renaming of Kotdwar would also bring change in the fortune of the sleepy town which is marred with issues like unplanned urbanisation and lack of civic amenities. The residents of the area also anticipate that the Government would be sympathetic enough to fulfill their long-pending demand for a separate district.
Medieval mindset
A lady police officer holding an important assignment in the provisional State Capital is learnt to be deeply hurt by the male chauvinistic approach and medieval mindset of some of the fellow officers of the force which takes pride in calling itself a friend of people. The female officer is particularly peeved at the manner in which she being a woman is looked upon by others including some among the senior officers. These officers are said to be of the view that being a woman, she would not be able to do justice to her assignments especially in the cases involving hardcore criminals. To pile on more insult to the aggrieved feelings of the lady officer, the secret hand of her husband who also happens to a senior officer in force is rumoured to be behind her success in solving some very complex cases by the police teams under her command.
Friday, 22 November 2019 | Gajendra Singh Negi
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