By Arun Pratap Singh
Dehradun, 28 Sep: Ten senior BJP leaders have been handed Lal Batti posts as per a GO issued late last evening. Sources in the party also claimed that although the first list has only ten names, a second list is also in the pipeline and will soon be announced. Lal Batti aspirants had been waiting for the Lal Batti posts for a long time, but as the first list only contains 10 names, a large number of these aspirants have been disappointed.
It may be recalled that Garhwal Post had indicated that the Lal Batti distribution would begin soon and it would be done in stages for political reasons. The first list was released in the form of an order after Chief Minister Pushkar Singh Dhami gave the go ahead from London in this regard. However, it appeared that the government was in some sort of a hurry to issue orders before the Pitra Paksh as it does not mention the status of the Lal Batti and the perks to be given to the appointees. A separate order will be issued later in this regard.
At the same time, the reluctance to fill the ministerial vacancies in Dhami’s Council of Ministers seems to be still persisting though the party sources claim that the matter has been discussed with the BJP High Command.
Many of the names announced in the first list have held Lal Batti posts in the past, too, and hence spring no surprise. The list was released late last evening to the media by Director General, Information, Bansidhar Tiwari. In a chat with Garhwal Post, BJP State President Mahendra Bhatt had indicated that the first list of Lal Batti appointments would be released before the start of Pitra Paksh, which starts from tomorrow. As per the party sources, most of the appointees have already taken charge today, itself, before the beginning of the fortnight of Pitra Paksh, which is considered to be inauspicious to begin a new chapter in life as per tradition.
Those appointed through the first order are Jyoti Prasad Gairola as Vice President, Twenty Point Programme Implementation Committee; Ramesh Gadiya as Vice President, Uttarakhand State Level Watershed Council; Madhu Bhatt as Vice President, Uttarakhand Sanskrit Literature and Arts Council; Mufti Shamoon Qasmi as President, Uttarakhand Madrasa Education Council; Balraj Pasi as President, Uttarakhand State Seed and Organic Products Certification Institute; Suresh Bhatt as Vice President, State Level National Rural Health and Monitoring Council; Anil Dabbu as Chairman, Agricultural Production and Marketing Board (Mandi Parishad); Kailash Pant as Chairman, Uttarakhand State Advisory Labour Contract Board; Shiv Singh Bisht as Vice Chairman, Prime Minister Rural Road Scheme State Level Monitoring Council, and Narayan Ram Tamta as President, Hariram Tamta Traditional Craft Development Institute.
