Capt clears 8 Congress leaders’ names for board, corpn chiefs

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 12

Sticking to the criteria of appointing Congress leaders who had been denied ticket in the last Assembly elections or had been removed from the post of district-level committee chiefs, Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh today cleared at least eight names for appointment as chairpersons in boards and corporations.

After clearance from the Chief Minister, the formal appointment letters are being issued. Barring other senior leaders, approval to the name of Pargat Singh Duna, a jeweller and a lesser known name in party circles, has raised many an eyebrows. There were senior leaders from Amritsar seeking political appointments.

The name of former PPCC chief HS Hanspal has been cleared for appointment as Chairperson of the Punjab Energy Development Authority and that of Tejinder Singh Bittu, a former Chairman of Jalandhar Improvement Trust, as Chairperson of PUNSUP. In the last Assembly elections, his candidature from the Jalandhar (North) constituency was cancelled to adjust former MLA Raj Kumar Gupta and finally Bawa Henry, the sitting MLA, was given ticket.

On the similar lines, former Ludhiana DDC president Gurpreet Gogi’s name has been cleared for the post of Chairman, Punjab State Industrial Export Corporation. For the post of Chairperson of the Punjab State Industrial Development Corporation Krishan Kumar Bawa’s name has been cleared. An old Congressman, Bawa is the president of the All India Bairagi Vaishnav Mahamandal.

President of Punjab Mahila Congress Mamta Dutta’s name has been cleared for the post of Chairperson, Punjab Khadi Board. For the SC Corporation Chairperson post, ML Sood’s name has been cleared.

Appointees

Those appointed include Pargat Singh Duna, HS Hanspal, Tejinder Singh Bittu, Gurpreet Gogi, Krishan Kumar Bawa, Mamta Dutta and ML Sood.