Manish Khanduri criticizes the BJP Uttarakhand govt’s Pauri cabinet conclave

To commemorate the completion of fifty years of the Pauri Commissionery under Pauri Garhwal district,  Trivendra Singh government is holding the first ever cabinet committee meeting at the famous Pauri township in Garhwal Uttarakhand on 29th June with total fanfare.

Crores of Rupees are allegedly  being spent on the luxurious arrangements at Pauri township as the entire cabinet, bureaucrats from all the departments of Uttarakhand government, the police machinery and state’s security system has come here to participate in the significant deliberations and maintain the security of the VVIPs and VIPs.

Pauri township after several years, rather for the first time since the formation of the new Uttarakhand state would be the centre of attraction as the mediamen has already arrived here from the state capital as well to highlight this historic ruling party government congregation.

Sources reveal that the primary reason for holding this first ever cabinet meeting in Pauri township is because there had been accusations by the people of this district that despite the current CM Trivendra Rawat and the former chief ministers  Retd Major General Bhuvan Chandra Khanduri, Dr. Ramesh Pokhriyal Nishank, Vijay Bahuguna and the NSA Ajit Doval hailing from this district, Pauri Garhwal has always been neglected in terms of its over all development and uncontrolled migration from here to cities, towns and metropolises in view of the lack of decentralised socio economic, educational, health related development also leading to enhanced unemployment.

Perhaps the chief minister wants to earn the goodwill and sympathy of the Pauri Garhwal electorates by holding this cabinet meeting at Pauri and fulfilling various long pending  developmental grievances.

Moreover, Satpal Maharaj, state’s Tourism minister, Tirath Singh Rawat, MP and many important dignitories belong to this constituency apart from the chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat.

The Indian Army chief Vipin Rawat, NSA Ajit Doval, RAW chief  Mukesh Dhasmana also belong to Pauri Garhwal district.

It may be recalled that in the recent past, the chief minister had also convened cabinet committe meetings at Gairsain, the would be summer capital of Uttarakhand and at Tehri lake in a sailing hi tech boat/ steamer raising lots of controversy about vulgur ostentation and “sair sapaata” charge by media and the public at large.

It may be recalled that the government of Trivendra Singh Rawat has earlier contemplated and even brought into practice of holding regular monthy/ weekly durbars to resolve peoples’ issues on the spot inorder to come closer to the voters.

He had also issued written directives to the ministers and lawmakers to hold weekly/ monthly meetings by going closer to the electorates on prescribed days.

It did happened but the practice flopped  in two meetings , one at the chief minister’s durbar, a controversy arose when he publicly scolded a teacher Uttara Pant Bahuguna demanding transfer thus creating immense controversy in the media.

In the second meeting Subodh Uniyal, the state’s agriculture minister allegedly threatened a person with dire consequences who created disturbance in his public durbar.

Both these controvertial public durbars led to stoppage of this exercise.

Meanwhile, son of estranged former Minister and MP from Pauri Garhwal Manish Khanduri has  criticized the Pauri Cabinet conclave of the BJP government terming it as an exercise in futility with extravagent waste of public money.

He said instead of wasting so much money on this so called picnic cabinet get together,  the government of the day should transparently and with dedication concentrate its efforts on genuine development of Pauri district than to waste excessive public money on vulgar ostentation.