‘Young’ ministers raring to work for Uttarakhand’s youth

HINDUSTAN TIMES 20 March 2017

‘Young’ ministers raring to work for Uttarakhand’s youth

DEHRADUN Updated: Mar 20, 2017 07:39 IST

Neha Pant 
Hindustan Times

Average age of 10 ministers in the Trivendra Singh Rawat government is 54 years. (PTI File Photo)

Three “young” ministers, who are below 50 years of age, in the state’s new government are gearing up to resolve issues being faced by youngsters -- a section of voters the ruling BJP wooed big way during campaigning.

Three ministers are Arvind Pandey (45), Rekha Arya (38) and Dhan Singh Rawat (47). Pandey holds cabinet rank while Arya and Rawat are ministers of state.

Unlike the erstwhile Harish Rawat government, several of the newly-inducted ministers are relatively younger in age. Average age of 10 ministers is 54 years, in what is perhaps resonant of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s preference for younger leaders.

“My effort will be to work for issues being faced by youngsters. Most important ones being lack of employment in the hills, skill development and setting up of small-scale industries in rural areas to prevent migration,” Arya, the MLA from Someshwar in Almora district, told HT.

The state’s youngest minister said she’ll chalk out a “detailed strategy” to deal with the issues once portfolios (departments) are distributed among ministers.

Arvind Pandey, a fourth-time MLA, said: “Young blood will reflect in our (young ministers’) style of functioning.”

“I’ll put in all my previous experiences (of being an MLA) to ensure that I’m able to work for the welfare of the youngsters... they (youth voters) have placed a massive trust on our government and we’ll work to deliver our promise,” Pandey, who represents Gadarpur seat in Udham Singh Nagar district, told HT.

Besides, all ministers in chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat’s government, barring 12-pass Satpal Maharaj, are graduate.

Political analysts, however, feel that young faces may be well-educated and full of enthusiasm but they lack experience. “It’s good to provide leadership roles to youngsters, but most of them lack administrative experience which is a must for effective functioning of a government, especially in a state which is struggling for development,” Dehradun-based political analyst Jay Singh Rawat told HT.

“Before making them ministers, young leaders should have first been provided with some experience in government bodies to help them acquaint with the practical functioning (of the government),” he said.

After ‘slow’ Harish Rawat, Uttarakhand gets a ‘swift’ CM

Kautilya Singh| TNN | Updated: Mar 19, 2017, 08.11 AM IST

The Times of India News network

DEHRADUN: After the chief ministerial tenure of Harish Rawat, who was considered a suave, approachable and "slow" leader, the people of Uttarakhand will now see his "contrast image" in form of new chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat, seen as a "quick, straightforward and low profile" man.

Political experts, who have seen the work of the two politicians at different positions, say that there is a "sharp contrast" in the working style of Trivendra and his predecessor. Jay Singh Rawat, a political expert, said that although Harish had the experience, he was always on the edge due to the lack of majority in the assembly.

On the other hand, Trivendra is regarded as a determined leader who has an overwhelming number of MLAs behind him. The political expert was of the view that while Harish was easily available, it may not be the same with Trivendra.

When Harish was surrounded by problems, he used to come up with innovative solution. He also promoted pahadi food. Columnist and political expert Raj Kanwar, from his memories of Trivendra's functioning as agriculture minister in previous BJP government, said, "The new chief minister is a straight forward person and no one thinks ill about him."

According to Kanwar, while Harish was "loud and over-confident", Trivendra prefers maintaining a low profile.