Additional Advocate General Himmat Singh, a resident of Kaithal district has been appointed as the new chairman of Haryana Staff Selection Commission (HSSC) by the BJP-run state government ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. However, the government has been seeking permission from the Election Commission of India for the appointment to the post of HSSC chairman as the Model Code of Conduct implemented due to the Lok Sabha elections is in force.
As soon as the permission is received, he will be officially appointed to the post of Chairman of the Commission. On the other hand, the appointment of Himmat Singh also carries a political significance amid the polls preparations for Lok Sabha polls. By the joining of Himmat Singh has tried to kill two birds with one stone. Himmat Singh hails from the Rod community which is pretty influential politically in Karnal and Kurukshetra Lok Sabha constituencies. Since the Rod community has a sizable chunk of the vote share in the aforementioned parliamentary seats along with several assembly constituencies, no party seems to overlook the political significance of the community.
In such a situation, the government will try woo the voters belonging to the community through the appointment of Himmat Singh. For some time now, the Rod community has been continuously accusing the political parties of neglecting them in the political spheres stating that be it ruling or opposite parties, all have left the political leaders in a state of disparity denying tickets in Lok Sabha and assembly polls as well equal representation. By appointing such a key post Himmat Singh, the saffron BJP has tried to give a message of being a well-wisher of the community in a bid to galvanise Rod’s vote bank. Political experts believe that appointing Himmat Singh to such a pivotal post might garner the BJP electoral support of the Rod community.
Himmat Singh is a resident of the village Khedi Matarwa, district Kaithal. He has completed his BA LLB and LLM from Kurukshetra University, Kurukshetra. He has practised as an advocate for 16 years and is currently serving as Additional Advocate General, Haryana.
Apart from this, Himmat Singh has also been a part of the development and implementation of the e-custody certificate initiative, the Digital India campaign and has also served as the coordinator of the Crime and Criminal Tracking Network and System (CCTNS) data integration project in Haryana. Notably, Anurag Rastogi, a 1990 batch IAS officer of the Haryana cadre, had been appointed as Chairman of the Haryana Staff Selection Commission in April replacing Bhaopal Singh Khadri. The post has been lying vacant since March 15 after Bhaopal Singh Khadri resigned from the position of HSSC Chairman. Rastogi has held this charge in addition to his present duties including Additional Chief Secretary, Finance and Planning Departments, and Additional Chief Secretary, PW (B&R) and Architecture Department.
