The central BJP leadership has been holding meetings with leaders from Uttarakhand against the backdrop of allegations of nepotism in appointments to the Assembly secretariat.
The Opposition Congress has alleged that relatives and friends of leaders from the ruling BJP were appointed to the Vidhan Sabha secretariat, the majority of them during the tenures of Tirath Singh Rawat (March 2021 to July 2021) and Pushkar Singh Dhami (July 2021 till date) as chief minister.
Pushkar has said a probe committee is looking into the charges. Speaker Ritu Khanduri ordered the investigation on September 3.
On Wednesday, BJP national president J.P. Nadda met Trivendra Singh Rawat, who was chief minister of the hill state from March 2017 to March 2021, at the former’s residence in New Delhi. Later, Trivendra met Anil Baluni, BJP Rajya Sabha member and chief spokesperson of the party.
Premchand Aggarwal, who was Speaker from March 2017 to March 2022 and is now the Uttarakhand finance minister, met Dushyant Gautam, BJP general secretary in charge of Uttarakhand, on Thursday. Party sources said Aggarwal was expected to meet Nadda in the national capital in a day or two.
“It has become clear in the initial inquiry that the majority of the appointments of the relatives and friends of BJP leaders and office-bearers were made during the tenures of Tirath Singh Rawat and Pushkar Singh Dhami. The central leadership of our party is not willing to take any risk when they are gearing up for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections. They will do something to show that they wouldn’t tolerate any corruption,” said a senior BJP leader from Uttarakhand, requesting anonymity.
Trivendra tweeted on Wednesday after his meeting with Nadda: “It was a cordial meeting with respected national president J.P. Nadda in New Delhi. We discussed the present issues in the state.”
A total of 129 appointments were made to the Vidhan Sabha secretariat during Aggarwal’s tenure as Speaker without the vacancies being advertised, the Congress claimed.
Karan Mahara, the state Congress president, alleged that Aggarwal had recommended the appointment of relatives and friends of BJP leaders to the Assembly secretariat, including the public relations officers of a former cabinet minister and a present woman minister, the wives of two officers on special duty to a former chief minister and the PRO of a BJP organisational general secretary.
Trivendra had said a few days ago: “These files were brought before me when I was chief minister but I refused to sign them. These 129 appointments were done after I left the chair of chief minister,” he had said.
Tirath said on Thursday: “Those who are guilty of making such appointments without following the norms should be punished. It is a gross violation of the system of governance.”
Aggarwal, who didn’t reply to reporters’ questions on Thursday, had said earlier: “It is the Speaker’s prerogative to appoint people to certain posts in the Assembly secretariat. All norms were followed in these direct appointments.”
Khanduri, the present Speaker, has ordered an administrative probe into all appointments in the Assembly since 2012 and sent Vidhan Sabha secretary Mukesh Singhwal on indefinite leave “to ensure a smooth inquiry by a three-member committee headed by former IAS officer Dilip Kumar”. The panel’s report is expected in a month.
