Tiwari pledges jobs for state agitators

As an Independence Day gift, the Uttaranchal state government today announced jobs for those who suffered in the statehood agitation. The move comes days after Chief Minister N.D. Tiwari drew flak over the death of prominent activist Baba Mohan Uttarakhandi who was on fast to demand the shifting of the state capital to Garsain in Chamoli district.

At a state function, the Chief Minister announced that statehood agitators who had spent seven days in jail or were injured and admitted to hospital for seven days would be given Class III and IV government jobs. The Congress government has been struggling to counter the

Opposition’s campaign that it is against the statehood agitators, which has been picked up by several social groups as well.

The government’s decision will benefit hundreds of youth who participated in the statehood agitation, particularly during its violent phase between 1993 and 1996. The jobs will go to all agitators below 50 years of age.

The issue of providing jobs to statehood agitators has been an emotional one and the previous BJP government left its promise of jobs unfulfilled. As there was no official record of statehood agitators, the list drawn up by the state was long and exhaustive. The Tiwari government formed a committee headed by state Congress general secretary Dhirendra Pratap to identify such statehood agitators.