Appointments of Delhi individuals to key positions in Punjab are harmful to the state’s interests: Balbir Sidhu
They neither have understanding of Punjab nor any attachment to it: Balbir Sidhu
S.A.S. Nagar, May 20
Senior Punjab Congress leader and former state Health Minister Balbir Singh Sidhu has reacted sharply to the appointment of individuals from Delhi to important public posts by the Punjab government, calling it an atrocity against Punjab’s interests.
In a press statement issued here today, Sidhu alleged that Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has pawned Punjab to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo Arvind Kejriwal in a desperate bid to save his chair. “Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, and Satinder Jain — all of whom have been rejected by the people of Delhi and are embroiled in scams worth crores — are now placing their favourites in key departments of the Punjab government to ensure direct control over every level,” he said.
The Congress leader added, “People who have neither any understanding of Punjab nor any emotional or cultural attachment to the state are being brought from Delhi and handed chairmanships. Their only aim is to fill their own pockets — and those of their political masters.”
He alleged that these appointees were closely associated with scam-tainted ministers in the Delhi AAP government and are now being imported into Punjab so that their “experience” can be applied here as well.
Sidhu strongly condemned the appointment of three lawyers from Delhi — Mohammad Irshad, Prashant Manchanda, and R.V. Sinha — to all three posts of Additional Advocate General in the Punjab Advocate General’s office, completely sidelining capable lawyers from Punjab. “This is a betrayal of Punjab’s interests. Appointing non-Punjabis to such crucial legal posts is a serious error. How can we expect outsiders to protect Punjab’s constitutional rights with the same commitment?” he questioned.
Sidhu called upon Punjab’s pro-people organizations, institutions, and intellectuals to raise their voice in every possible way against what he described as a dangerous misstep by the Punjab government. “The Chief Minister, his ministers, and MLAs must be confronted and asked: Was there truly no deserving talent in Punjab for these posts?”
