CHANDIGARH: The Punjab Assembly on Wednesday passed a resolution praising the "transparent recruitment system" and "corruption-free" appointments made over the past four-and-a-half years, amid demands from the Opposition Congress for a white paper detailing the appointments and the number of appointees who belong to the state.
The resolution, passed after a 90-minute debate that saw some heated exchanges between AAP and Congress legislators, stated that the House restored its confidence in the recruitment system due to "transparent and corruption-free appointments".
The resolution, tabled by MLA Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, lauded the state government's successful two-pronged strategy -- restoring complete transparency in government recruitments and attracting mega industrial investments to create sustainable private-sector jobs.
Speaking on the revamp of the recruitment system, Dhaliwal said that the Punjab government has permanently eliminated the decades-old culture of recommendations, political interference, and corruption in providing government jobs.
By prioritising merit over favouritism, the government has restored the confidence of lakhs of Punjabi youth, he said.
Since April 1, 2022, the Punjab Government has provided 68,228 government jobs through a completely transparent, corruption-free, and merit-based process, he added.
Major government recruitments include 16,316 youth recruited in school education department, 14,723 youth recruited in Home affairs department, 8,706 youth recruited in power department, 5,681 persons recruited in Local Government department and 4,758 persons recruited in Health and Family Welfare department.
Thousands of additional appointments were also made across vital sectors including Revenue, Medical Education, Water Resources, and Agriculture among others.
Acknowledging unprecedented industrial boom and private sector growth, the resolution highlighted the state's success in attracting private investment through policy stability and ease of doing business.
Between March 16, 2022, and July 31, 2026, Punjab secured 9,899 investment proposals worth Rs 1,83,837 crore. These projects are expected to generate 6,16,436 employment opportunities for the youth across the state.
Dhaliwal said the government's visionary governance empowers Punjab youth and mitigates forced migration to foreign nations.
Punjab Employment Generation, Skill Development and Training, and Industries and Commerce Minister Aman Arora said the state had provided over 68,000 government jobs, attracted investments worth Rs 1,83,837 crore, and generated 6,36,636 private sector jobs over the past four-and-a-half years.
Winding up the discussion on a resolution on employment opportunities moved by Dhaliwal in the House, Arora told the House that the investment inflows had directly and indirectly created over 6.36 lakh jobs in the private sector.
He cited the example of Japanese steel major AICHI Steel, which scaled up its planned investment from Rs 500 crore to Rs 1,100 crore after being impressed by the state government's facilitation and ease of doing business.
However, Congress MLAs Sukhpal Singh Khaira, Avtar Henry Junior, Hardev Singh Laddi, and rebel SAD MLA Manpreet Singh Ayali alleged that jobs had been given to non-Punjabis and demanded a white paper on candidates who got the jobs.
Taking a swipe at the Opposition's demand for a white paper, Arora said, "The best, cheapest and most sustainable white paper is to ask the people directly. File an RTI or hold a public meeting. Let the people tell you if they got jobs."
Arora lashed out at the previous Congress government over its "Har Ghar Naukri" promise, calling it the "biggest fraud" on Punjab’s youth.
He asserted that the AAP government had transparently provided nearly 70,000 government jobs, without any quid pro quo. He reiterated that the government’s sole objective was to make Punjab a model for ‘Ease of Doing Business’ and generate dignified, skill-based employment.