Advisors will help CM tackle Uttarakhand crisis

New Delhi: The change of guard in Uttarakhand, following which Tirath Singh Rawat was appointed Chief Minister, seems to have been unable to serve the purpose. Tirath Singh took over the charge at a time when the second wave of corona had hit the state. But the CM is unable to take any decision on his own due to what is being called “his being less experienced in politics”.

He is going by the advice of Sangh and some Delhi leaders, which has confused him. Moreover, he is trying to run the government on advice also of some old bureaucrats and officers. The corona crisis has made matters worse for Tirath Singh. Last time, the hills were untouched by the corona wave, but this time, the virus has affected all parts of the state. Lack of health facilities has added to problems. As a result, CM Rawat has no other option left but to rely on officers. Such a situation has arisen when the Assembly elections are just eight months away.

The pandemic has badly affected tourism. Apart from that, incidents of cloud burst have also increased. Unseasonal snowfall and rains have hit crops as well. Paralysed tourism and cultivation loss have resulted in growing unemployment. Neither the Centre nor the state have announced any relief package for the hills.

In fact, the BJP high command had replaced Trivendra Singh Rawat with Tirath Singh Rawat just to improve the image of the BJP. Uttarakhand was the first state where the high command had changed the CM after dissent and complaints. But nothing changed. So, the high command is also responsible for this to some extent.

The former Congress leaders, who are in BJP, are so strong that the CM has to yield to the pressure from them. Assam has set a political example due to which Tirath Singh Rawat is facing the same challenge in Uttarakhand. In Assam, former Congress leader Himanta Biswa Sarma had to be given the CM post. Political observers say that leaders who defected from Congress to BJP started dominating Tirath Rawat soon after he became CM. As a result, BJP leaders are feeling neglected. So, Tirath Rawat is looking nonplussed trying to woo all.

The situation

has come to such a pass that the order to appoint Dinesh Mansera as CM’s media advisor was issued at the instructions of a Sangh leader. But the government had to withdraw the order before Dinesh Mansera could take charge. Now the question is why this happened. Why was all information not collected before the issue of order? Two old time officers R.V.S. Rawat and Shatrughan Singh have been appointed advisors. Both of them are known by their being in significant posts during the regime of Congress as well as BJP. Shatrughan Singh had been in PMO during the tenures of both Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Dr Manmohan Singh. Now, CM Rawat will try to salvage the image of his government, banking on these two officers. So many believe that Assam’s political decision by the BJP can also be replicated in Uttarakhand.