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Akalis, AAP mount attack on Amarinder govt over jobs to Cong MLAs’ sons

Term the move “open horse trading by Amarinder to save his chair” amid an intense infighting among the party leaders

Published on: Jun 20, 2021, 01:29:30 IST
By , CHANDIGARH
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The opposition parties — Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) — on Saturday took on the Capt Amarinder Singh-led government over the state cabinet’s approval to provide jobs to the sons of two Congress MLAs.

Members of the Youth Akali Dal staging a protest in Patiala on Saturday.
Members of the Youth Akali Dal staging a protest in Patiala on Saturday.

The cabinet on Friday okayed the appointment of sons of ruling party legislators Fateh Jang Bajwa and Rakesh Pandey as inspector and naib tehsildar even as five cabinet ministers opposed the move.

The SAD termed the move “open horse trading by Amarinder to save his chair” amid an intense infighting among the party leaders.

Addressing a press conference in Chandigarh, party leaders Bikram Singh Majithia and Daljeet Singh Cheema said the Punjab governor should take a note of the manner in which the cabinet legalised corruption by doling out jobs to wards of Congressmen on compassionate grounds even though they were not eligible for the same.

“In case the governor does not take action in the matter, the President should take note of the unconstitutional appointments and dismiss the Amarinder Singh government immediately,” said the former ministers.

Majithia said after coming to power, the SAD and its alliance partner Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) would quash all illegal appointments made on compassionate grounds and also register cases against those responsible for the wrongdoings.

“Amarinder took an oath to provide jobs to each and every household. But jobs are being given to ‘crorepati’ Congressmen. Also, the son-in-law of cabinet minister Gurpreet Kangar was given out-of-turn appointment as an assistant excise and taxation officer (ETO),” said Majithia.

‘Cong govt’s anti-people

face stands exposed’

Leader of opposition and AAP legislator Harpal Singh Cheema said the anti-people face of the Congress government has been exposed with the cabinet giving nod to the MLAs’ sons.

In a press statement, Cheema said they condemn the decision as the beneficiaries’ families are well off.

“Amarinder Singh’s ‘ghar-ghar rozgar’ has turned out to be ‘Congressiyan de ghar rozgar’. On the one hand, the wards of martyrs and common people are being humiliated in the name of job fairs, the sons of select Congress leaders are being appointed as inspector and naib tehsildar on the other,” he said.

The Captain government circumvented the rules in 2017 by directly appointing former CM Beant Singh’s grandson as a DSP, he added.

“The ETT-TET pass youths are sitting on dharnas for jobs. Also, contractual employees waiting for regularisation and fulfillment of other demands are cane-charged, beaten up and harassed,” said Cheema.