Former Delhi chief minister and AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal recently attended an official function where he and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann handed over appointment letters to new police recruits, causing quite a stir. Both the BJP and SAD raised questions on the capacity in which he participated in the event and on what basis he received a guard of honor alongside CM Mann. “Why does the Punjab CM need Kejriwal to stand beside him?’’ wrote Union minister Ravneet Singh Bittu on X, while SAD leader Paramhans Singh Romana asked, “Under what rule is he being extended these privileges?’’
Punjab chief secretary’s missive to senior officers
Upset with overcrowding in the committee room of his office in Civil Secretariat, Punjab chief secretary KAP Sinha has sent a letter to all the administrative secretaries. The letter noted that many uninvited individuals accompany the secretaries, resulting in unnecessary congestion in the hall, and several subordinates at the meetings are “absolutely undesirable”. “Henceforth, only the invited officers will attend the meeting. No junior staff of the officer should be sitting in or outside the committee room,” it read. In pressing circumstances, however, a representative of reasonable seniority will be allowed, the letter further said.
Sidhu: Will return if Cong high command wishes
Former Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu has said that he would return if the party high command desires it. “The party’s high command is there to take a call on it,” he said. Despite figuring in the star campaigners’ list, Sidhu did not campaign for the party in the Lok Sabha elections. He recently appeared in the comedy show by Kapil Sharma after a gap of five years, however, only in the capacity of a special guest. The former Punjab Congress chief has not been active in politics since he came out of jail after serving a sentence in a road rage case.
Harpreet Bajwa
Our correspondent in Chandigarh
hsbajwa73@gmail.com