Oppn unites against govt's move to appoint CS as devp board chief
2
Chandigarh: Reacting sharply to the Punjab council of ministers' nod on Saturday to appoint the chief secretary as the chairperson of all urban development authorities, opposition parties in Punjab, Congress, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) hit out at the AAP-led govt in the state, strongly condemning the move.
Leader of the opposition in Punjab assembly Partap Singh Bajwa said chief minister
Bhagwant Mann
had "mortgaged Punjab's authority to Delhi's whims". In a post on X, the Congress leader said chief secretaries "take orders from the Punjab Development Commission controlled by Delhiwalas, reducing the elected chief minister of Punjab to a mere puppet". "This is a de facto coup of Punjab's democratic mandate," he said.
Congress MLA from Bholath and chairman of the All India Kisan Congress, Sukhpal Singh Khaira, said the decision "effectively sidelines the elected chief minister and hands over critical governance functions to a bureaucrat".
Khaira, in a statement, mentioned: "For the first time in 75 years of India's Independence, an elected leader, chief minister Bhagwant Mann, was replaced by a bureaucrat in such a vital role."
Referring to Punjab finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema's statement that the move was necessitated due to the "busy schedule" of the CM, Khaira said it was a "flimsy excuse to mask Kejriwal's growing control over Punjab's governance".
"This is not about schedules; this is about power. Kejriwal's takeover of Punjab is now complete, with Mann's authority systematically dismantled," he said.
Khaira vowed to take the issue to the assembly, and if necessary, to the courts. "Punjab deserves transparent, accountable, and democratic governance, and we will not rest until that is restored," he said.
SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal, in a post on X, said by appointing the chief secretary as the chairman of all the urban planning and development authorities in Punjab, including PUDA, GMADA, GLADA, JDA, BDA, ADA, PDA, and others, CM Mann's "meek and unabashed surrender" to Arvind Kejriwal "is now complete".
"He (Bhagwant Mann) has handed over control of Punjab's lands and development funds to his Delhi boss through a bureaucrat, who is a close aide of Kejriwal," Badal said.
He said the move was "designed to hand over Punjab's entire wealth to looters, as it comes on the eve of the AAP govt's plan to acquire thousands of acres of Punjab's land, including 24,000 acres in Ludhiana alone". "This move is also final proof that Punjab is now being directly controlled by non-Punjabis, and even the pretence of ruling through Bhagwant Mann has ended.
It is common knowledge that Punjab bureaucrats report directly to Kejriwal and his non-Punjabi associates," Sukhbir said.
Punjab BJP spokesperson Pritpal Singh Baliawal said Mann had now officially handed over all development bodies to the chief secretary. "First, the Punjab Development Commission was snatched away from the CM and handed to the chief secretary and he further handed it over to the AAP Delhi nominees! Now, even Punjab's development authorities have been taken away from the CM and given to the chief secretary," Baliawal posted on X.
"They've been installed to drain Punjab's resources for Kejriwal's empire in Delhi. The next step clearly seems to be putting these outsiders in control of the development authorities as well," Baliawal said while pointing out the AAP govt's earlier move of handing over of the Development Commission to the "outsiders with absolutely no roots in Punjab".
Punjab Congress Committee president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring said AAP had been blatantly trying to weaken the institution of the chief minister by replacing him with an in-service bureaucrat to head various development boards, which will make them completely unaccountable to the public.
In a written statement, Warring added, "Being in opposition we do have numerous differences with the chief minister on various issues, but we do not approve undermining and taking away his authority.
After all, he is the elected head of the govt, chosen by people of Punjab, while the chief secretary is only 'an appointed official'."
BJP national general secretary Tarun Chugh called it an open assault on democratic governance and an insult to Punjab's elected leadership.
"Will chief minister Bhagwant Mann and his cabinet now report to a bureaucrat? Has Punjab's cabinet been reduced to a puppet show run by Kejriwal's inner circle?" he said.
BOX
Govt calls it 'bold reform'
The opposition parties' condemnation of the Punjab cabinet nod to appoint chief secretary as the chairperson of all urban development authorities stems from the fact that the post had been till now held by the chief minister of Punjab.
The amendment proposed in the Punjab Regional and Town Planning and Development Act seeks to replace the CM with the chief secretary as chairperson of all urban development authorities.
The govt, on the other hand, terms it as a "bold reform" aimed at "strengthening decentralised governance, speeding up decision making, and empowering the administrative setup to act swiftly on ground-level issues". The govt's statement said: "Previously, these authorities had inconsistent structures, Now, the cabinet has approved a uniform framework across all eight authorities with deputy commissioners and municipal commissioners included as members – ensuring that local matters are resolved efficiently at the authority level itself."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Deccan Herald
22 minutes ago
- Deccan Herald
Do those wearing skull caps speak the language?: Nitesh Rane slams assault on Hindu man for not speaking Marathi
Workers of Raj Thackeray-led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena had thrashed a shop-keeper in Bhayandar area on the outskirts of the state capital for allegedly refusing to speak in Marathi.
The Hindu
29 minutes ago
- The Hindu
PM Modi, Amit Shah falsely claim more allocation of funds to Tamil Nadu, alleges DMK
Tamil Nadu's ruling DMK on Friday (July 4, 2025) alleged that the BJP-led Centre is "lying" that funds provided to the State is more under its regime than during the Congress party's dispensation. The Dravidian party's official organ Murasoli in its editorial on the DMK's "Oraniyil Tamil Nadu" (Tamil Nadu as a single team) membership enrolment campaign said the party had always been reinventing itself and that is the reason for it being still young, though it has crossed the milestone of 75 years. On July 1, Mr. Stalin launched the Oraniyil Tamil Nadu (OTN) campaign and on July 3, the door-to-door visit to reach out to the people commenced. According to DMK President Stalin, the OTN encompasses election campaign, membership enrolment, the DMK government's achievements and the Centre's betrayal of Tamil Nadu as well and broadly, it is to bring together the people to protect the state's language and honour. Assembly election is due in Tamil Nadu during April 2026. The DMK's Tamil daily said people of Tamil Nadu know 'pretty well that the BJP-led Union government betrayed Tamil Nadu'. 'Betrayal alone is BJP's practice and they do not know doing good to the people. However, they divert through lies,' the Dravidian newspaper alleged. Right from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, everybody in the Centre have been "lying" again and again that funds to Tamil Nadu is more under the BJP regime than during the Congress rule. "Union Home Minister Amit Shah is often saying this. They did not specify the schemes through which they are providing the funds and they cannot say that." Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has said that the Tamil Nadu government is pitching in with its funds even for the implementation of Central government schemes. 'What is the Centre's special scheme for Tamil Nadu during the past 10 years? This is the CM's question to the Union government,' the daily said. The Madurai AIIMS initiative, though announced by the Centre in the year 2015, is yet to become functional. In 2019, PM Modi laid the foundation stone for the hospital. Citing a video clip recently released by authorities on the progress of the Madurai hospital project, the DMK mouthpiece said, "It has taken them six years to produce the video and this is the respect the BJP gives to the Tamil Nadu people." The DMK has commenced its OTN campaign to bring people together against such injustices to Tamil Nadu, Murasoli asserted. On July 3, the ruling DMK kickstarted its 45-day door-to-door campaign across the state to enroll as party members, 30% voters in every polling station under the "Oraniyil Tamil Nadu" membership drive.
Time of India
39 minutes ago
- Time of India
'Is Election Commission God?': Pappu Yadav's 'do-or-die battle' call as roll revision row heats up
NEW DELHI: , who is a Congress-leaning Independent Lok Sabha MP, made a call for the "do-or-die battle" over the 's (ECI) move to revise the electoral roll as part of its special intensive revision (SIR) ahead of the . Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Labelling the poll body as "office of the ," the Purnia MP asked if the "Election Commission was God?" Pappu Yadav, who is a six-time MP, said he would lay his life for "the identity of Bihar and Bihari". "The commission is precisely the office of the RSS and should be stopped. The people are ready to end anything that threatens constitutional responsibility. Talks have been held with the Congress incharge regarding this... Is the Election Commission God?... There will be a battle across the state. And for the identity of Bihar and Bihari, if we have to sacrifice our lives, then we will do it," Pappu Yadav told news agency ANI. Earlier in the day, Congress alleged that the poll body's special intensive revision of electoral rolls in Bihar was a "sinister exercise" to deprive lakhs of voters of their franchise and a clear effort to "destroy" the electoral system in the state. In a post on X, Congress general secretary in-charge organisation, K C Venugopal, said, "This government specialises in giving people hell. The SIR is a sinister exercise to deprive lakhs of voters of their franchise." "The unnecessary haste, and their absolute refusal to address genuine concerns raised by the Opposition, points to this being a clear effort to destroy the electoral system in Bihar," he said. "We will not let this go through. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now They must halt this ridiculous exercise immediately," Venugopal said. On Wednesday, leaders of several INDIA bloc parties met the EC over the SIR issue and raised concerns over its timing, alleging that over two crore voters of the state may be disenfranchised by this mammoth exercise being done just ahead of assembly elections. The Election Commission on Thursday said it has decoded the entire exercise to a group of opposition parties to assuage their fears. While the EC said that the revision, happening after 22 years, is in line with the Constitution and the Representation of the People Act, opposition parties claim the timing is suspiciously close to the assembly polls and could "skew the voter base". The opposition has maintained that a revision this close to elections casts doubt on the EC's intentions. However, contrary to their protests, opposition parties have gone all in. The RJD has deployed 47,143 BLAs, second only to BJP's 51,964. Congress has appointed 8,586, while Left outfits like CPI(ML), CPM, and CPI have sent in their own agents. On the NDA side, JDU, LJP, and RLSP have mobilised more than 30,000 BLAs in total.
