RAIPUR: The government’s move to appoint an assassinated Congress leader’s son to a senior bureaucratic post has stirred anger among youngsters of Chhattisgarh as well as the Opposition. The Bhupesh Baghel-led government had decided to appoint the Congress leader Mahendra Karma’s son, Ashish, to the position of the Deputy Collector. Karma was killed in a Maoist attack in 2013 during the party’s ‘Parivartan Yatra’ campaign in the state.
Reacting to the appointment, several civil services aspirants said their future shouldn’t get “entangled in any political agenda”.“Employment remains our prime concern. While the scope of getting jobs is shrinking, such a move by the state government will enhance the sense of hopelessness among the youth,” said one aspirant enrolled at a coaching centre in Raipur.
It’s the second instance of such an appointment in Chhattisgarh. The previous regime had appointed the son of police officer VK Choubey killed in a Maoist ambush as a deputy collector. “There can never be a parallel between the two. Choubey died in the line of duty and was a senior police officer whose son got the deputy collector job on compassionate grounds, as is the policy... It would have been better if the Congress had created a party post for Ashish or offered him a ticket,” said Uchit Sharma, a social activist.
“Amid the ongoing war between merit and nepotism, it definitely is a bad example...” asserted noted academician Jawahar Surisetti.
The BJP questioned the logic. “If the Karma family gets job security, why deprive families of the other Congress leaders eliminated in the Jhiram ambush? What is the fault of the others killed in Maoist attacks so far?” asked BJP leader Sanjay Shrivastava.“The Opposition, instead of raising objections, should appreciate the decision as a gesture of respect for the martyr,” said Cabinet minister T S Singhdeo.
Audacious attack
At least 27 people, including Congress leader Mahendra Karma, were killed in a Maoist ambush in Jhiram, Darbha Valley on May 25, 2013. The leaders were on a campaign rally at the time and their convoy was targeted after it slowed down in front of trees felled by the attackers.