After the incident, Trivendra Rawat said that request for transfers must not be brought to a platform which is meant for hearing public grievances. (File Photo)
A high-voltage drama unfolded during a ‘Janata Darbar’ session that was held in Dehradun, on Thursday, where Chief Minister Trivendra Rawat instructed the police to ‘immediately’ arrest a female school teacher, and ordered her suspension after the woman allegedly showed ‘indecency’ and used abusive language with Rawat while seeking a transfer from the remote location after being posted in such locations for 25 years.
Uttara Bahuguna (57), who is currently serving as the principal of a government primary school in Uttarkashi district’s Naugaon area, reached the ‘Janata Darbar’ on Thursday, and requested Rawat that she be transferred out of the remote village. When Rawat dismissed her request, Bahuguna started arguing with him. That is when Rawat lost his cool and shouted several times into the microphone: “Suspend karo ise bhi (Suspend her from her job, immediately). Take her into police custody.”
A video of the incident that went viral over social media shows Bahuguna leaving the ‘Janata Darbar’ hurling abuses at Rawat, before being taken into police custody under section 151 of the Code of Criminal Procedure (arrest to prevent the commission of cognisable offences). She was released from the police custody by Thursday evening.
#Uttarakhand CM @tsrawatbjp loses his cool while hearing a teacher’s plea for transfer during BJP’s “Janata Darbar”. In the video he can be heard ordering the teacher’s arrest and suspension. Rawat has received much flak for his behaviour with the teacher.@IndianExpress pic.twitter.com/r6EKMbQtt9
— Kavita (@Cavieta) June 28, 2018
After the incident, Rawat received much flak over social media for losing his cool with Bahuguna. The Uttarakhand Congress leaders too objected to Rawat’s “rude behaviour, and lack of patience.”
After the incident, Rawat said that request for transfers must not be brought to a platform which is meant for hearing public grievances. “All transfers of government employees will be done under the state’s Transfer Act,” Rawat said. The CM also said that suspension orders were issued for Bahuguna for “showing disrespect and using abusive language” in the “Janata Darbar”.
Speaking to The Indian Express after the incident, Bahuguna said, “I have no problem in doing my job, but I’ve been posted in remote areas for 25 years. Before the Uttarkashi village, I was posted in a remote area in Uttarkashi district’s Chinyalisaur. My husband used to take care of my two children, but after his death in August last year there’s no one to take care of my children. Also, I’m too old now to work in remote areas.”