TNR News Networks
Himachal Pradesh BJP MLA Randhir Sharma has levelled allegations of favouritism and nepotism in the recruitment of 14 of the 17 persons to various posts in the Vidhan Sabha in Shimla.
Randhir Sharma claimed that on January 31, the Secretariat of the Himachal Pradesh Legislative Assembly had issued two separate notifications on appointing the 14 persons to various posts.
Recruitments against posts of JOA-IT, clerk, reporter
The results for the recruitment of Junior Office Assistant (IT), clerks and reporters in the Himachal Pradesh Vidhan Sabha have been declared. Of the 10 clerk positions, four candidates from Hamirpur, two from Chamba and two from Sirmaur were selected.
Incidentally, Hamirpur is the home district of Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, Chamba of Assembly Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania and Sirmaur of Deputy Speaker Vinay Kumar. One candidate each from Lahaul-Spiti and Mandi too were appointed.
Five candidates from Hamirpur district were selected across all three recruitments. The selected candidates across these three categories will receive salaries ranging from Rs 20,200 to Rs 1.15 lakh per month.
Details of selected candidates:
Clerical positions
- Hamirpur (Nadaun): Sarita Devi of Manjhiyar village
- Hamirpur (Nadaun): Christy of ward number 5, Seri
- Hamirpur (Nadaun): Rishi Rattan of Garma village
- Hamirpur (Sujanpur): Ankit Chandel of Beri village
- Chamba (Sihunta): Ajay Thakur of Rakh village
- Chamba (Sihunta): Gyan Singh of Durdala village
- Mandi (Sarkaghat): Sunesh Suman of Kothi village
- Lahaul-Spiti: Chhering Chhukis
- Sirmaur (Kolar): Pawan Kumar
- Sirmaur (Rajgarh): Sheetal Sharma
JOA (IT) positions
- Hamirpur (Nadaun): Birbal of Telu village
- Chamba (Bhattiyat): Arjun Singh from
- Shimla (Khalini): Priyanshu Sharma
Reporter (Hindi) positions
- Prerna Bansha from Harshi village of Jaisinghpur tehsil in Kangra
- Chamba (Sihunta): Abhishek Pathania of Chhallara village
- Chamba (Sihunta): Akhil Thakur from Chhallara village
- Chamba (Dalhousie): Minakshi Devi from Bakan village
Social Media Buzz and BJP Allegations of Irregularities
These appointments have sparked widespread discussion on social media. It’s worth noting that the recruitment for JOA-IT was initially advertised in 2022, with the results declared after nearly three years. Both recruitments were conducted independently by the Assembly.
Randhir Sharma, MLA from Shri Naina Devi constituency in Bilaspur, accused the Congress government of favouritism. He pointed out that five appointments were made in the Speaker’s home district Chamba, five in the Chief Minister’s constituency of Nadaun and home district Hamirpur, and two in the Deputy Speaker’s home district Sirmaur.
BJP demands probe, cancellation of appointments
Randhir Sharma criticised the Congress government, claiming that the distribution of jobs was manipulated, and demanded the cancellation of these appointments and recruitment on merit.
Speaking at a press conference, Sharma questioned the transparency of the recruitment process, asking whether due consideration was given to qualifications and reservation criteria. “If fairness was ensured, were all the qualified candidates only from these three constituencies?” he asked.
The BJP MLA alleged that favoritism led to the hiring of close associates of the Chief Minister, Speaker and Deputy Speaker. “The son of a driver and a social media manager were given jobs, making a mockery of the state’s unemployed youth,” Sharma stated.
Assembly spokesperson denies allegations of favouritism
Sharma demanded a thorough investigation into these appointments, asserting that the names and addresses of the selected candidates clearly indicated “irregularities”. He insisted that the appointments be “cancelled and re-conducted transparently, strictly adhering to merit-based criteria”.
In response, Assembly spokesperson and Joint Director of Media, Hardayal Bhardwaj, refuted the allegations made by MLA Randhir Sharma. Bhardwaj stated that the appointments in the Assembly Secretariat were conducted transparently and in accordance with established rules and regulations.
