AICC general secretary and MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who was scheduled to attend inauguration of a newly constructed government school building in the Mandi district of Himachal Pradesh, was forced to skip the event owing to inclement weather. Unable to keep her promise, she sent her love through a personal message read out to the students by the CM’s political advisor, Sunil Sharma Bittu. CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu joined the function virtually. During her visit to rain-ravaged Mandi in September 2023, Priyanka had promised to rebuild the damaged building.
ED worry and anxiety for Punjab bureaucracy
ED’s leaked letter to the Punjab DGP alleges 61 counts of wrongdoing in the CMO. It also urges registration of an FIR against certain individuals for using their influence to interfere in government functioning, as they are closely associated with Rajbir Singh Ghuman, OSD to CM, in connection with alleged interference in postings and transfers of officials. This move has left the bureaucracy in Punjab deeply concerned. Since the information surfaced, the babus, police officers, and technocrats of the state are trying to identify the names in the annexures. Their greater worry is not just the content but the repercussions if their names come out in the public domain.
Union ministers’ visit cancelled at the last hour
The officials of the Punjab Agriculture Department and Food and Civil Supplies Department had a tough time last week in selecting two villages for the visit of Union Agriculture Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and his cabinet colleague Pralhad Joshi for the outreach programme of ministers. However, at the last moment, their visits were cancelled. The selection criteria were a rural set-up eight kilometres from the highway, parking space for 100 vehicles and a non-political gathering of 100 people. Also, the ministers’ visit was to be kept a secret from the farmer unions.
Harpreet Bajwa
Our correspondent in Chandigarh
hsbajwa73@gmail.com