U'khand Assembly Speaker Ritu Khanduri cancels 250 backdoor appointments, secretary suspended

DEHRADUN: Uttarakhand Assembly Speaker Ritu Khanduri Bhushan cancelled 250 backdoor appointments made against rules in the Assembly. All these appointments were made by the then Congress Assembly Speaker Govind Singh Kunjwal and the then BJP Assembly Speaker and current cabinet minister Premchand Agarwal. 

Apart from this, 22 appointments made through Uttarakhand Ex-Servicemen Welfare Limited (UPNL), which came under suspicion, have also been cancelled. Speaker Ritu Khanduri said this while addressing the media in the Assembly on Friday after the report of the three-member DK Kotia inquiry committee came out.

The Speaker also suspended secretary Mukesh Singhal after his role in the appointment scam came to light. Speaker Ritu Bhushan Khanduri has cancelled all appointments following a report of an ongoing probe into ad-hoc appointments in the Assembly since 2016. 22 recruitments through UPNL have also been cancelled.

After today's decision of the Speaker, the demand for an inquiry by some leaders of the opposition Congress and BJP has also ended.

Reacting on the decision, Congress spokesperson Mohan Kala said, "Cancellation of these appointments is welcome but the government should also take immediate action against those recruiting these people,"

Following the government's move, there is a possibility that the government may also cancel other appointments made since the formation of the state 22 years ago.