Oppn unites against govt's move to appoint CS as devp board chief
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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."
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