Probably for the first time, the decorum of mutual respect between the state government and the Lok Bhawan (Governor’s House) in Himachal Pradesh has gone for a toss, an issue which remains a challenge for the new Governor, Kavinder Gupta, to take care of.
The previous Governor Shiv Pratap Shukla, who was vocal about his views on the 'lack of work culture in Himachal’, during a media interaction after his farewell function last week, visibly left the state government embarrassed with his remark. He had also mentioned that Uttarakhand had made better progress than HP in a short period of time.
On this, quite an unexpected comment came from Revenue Minister Jagat Singh Negi later, who not only expressed displeasure over the previous Governor’s remark, but also directly targeted him for meting out ‘injustice’ to the people of tribal areas by not signing the file for the grant of nautor land to the tribal people of Himachal Pradesh.
He said the Governor talked about work culture in Himachal, but he himself sat on the file for three years and denied the tribals their right. Negi said the Governor should have looked at his own work culture over the last three years. He said the Governor has the power to suspend or amend the rules of the state and the Union government regarding tribals.
“I personally met him eight times over the matter. Had he suspended the FCA as requested, the government would have given land to eligible people,” he said, holding that Shukla’s tenure proved disappointing for the tribal people of Himachal Pradesh.
BJP leader from Kinnaur and party spokesman Surat Negi, however, termed the tribal minister’s comment as unfortunate. He said the minister should not have spoken like this against the Governor, who holds a constitutional post. This reflects the minister's political ego and administrative failure.
“In fact, the way Jagat Singh Negi has aggressively targeted a constitutional institution over a sensitive issue like the grant of nautor land in tribal areas directly shows that he is trying to cover up the failures of his own government,” he said.
Surat Negi said the tribal minister in the Congress government had failed to protect the rights of the tribal people. “He should better check his behaviour and language. If he actually wants the people of tribal areas to benefit from the policies, he should maintain good communication with the Central government and find solutions to important issues like nautor land, the Forest Rights Act, and the Vibrant Village Scheme,” he said.
It is pertinent to mention that last month Shiv Pratap Shukla had chosen not to read the Governor’s address at the opening of the budget session and had instead laid it as such, while observing that he did not agree with some paragraphs with reference to the Revenue Deficit Grant (RDG). Even otherwise, on many occasions, the tiff between the Lok Bhawan and the state government was visibly evident, whether it was about giving assent to some Bills or the appointment of Vice Chancellors in the state universities—particularly CSK HP Agriculture University, Palampur, and Dr YS Parmar University of Horticulture and Forestry, Nauni.
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