Senior Punjab ministers step in to end stalemate

Rajmeet Singh
Tribune News Service
Chandigarh, May 10

Even as senior Punjab ministers today attempted a rapprochement between their colleagues and the Chief Secretary, more Congress MLAs, including Gidderbaha MLA Raja Warring, demanded that the Chief Secretary be replaced for showing “disrespect” to the ministers.

A meeting on Excise Policy 2020-21 on Saturday ended in a face-off between the ministers and Chief Secretary Karan Avtar Singh. Led by Finance Minister Manpreet Badal, the ministers walked out of the meeting as they vehemently opposed “concessions” to liquor contractors owing to the lockdown.

Demanding action against the Chief Secretary, MLAs Fateh Jung Bajwa, Gurkirat Kotli, Parminder Pinki, Barindermeet Pahra and Kulbir Zira said it must be ensured that officials involved in finalising the policy did not have any conflict of interest.

Opposing door-to-door delivery of liquor, Rajya Sabha MP Partap Singh Bajwa tagged the CMO in a tweet saying: “ I urge you to listen to your Cabinet colleagues, their wives and mothers and withdraw the anti-Punjab farmaan (order) of allowing doorstep delivery of liquor.” A meeting was reportedly held at the residence of Rural Development Minister Tript Rajinder Bajwa to elicit views of all ministers ahead of the Cabinet meeting tomorrow. It remained inconclusive. The matter is learnt to have reached the party high command in Delhi.