Bajwa appeals to brother to give up Punjab cabinet job offer for his son

Says MLAs Fateh Jung Bajwa and Rakesh Pandey should voluntarily give up cabinet offer of jobs for their sons on compassionate grounds

In a new twist to the ongoing tussle within the Congress over the Punjab cabinet’s decision of giving government jobs to the sons of party MLAs Fateh Jung Bajwa and Rakesh Pandey, Rajya Sabha member Partap Singh Bajwa on Monday appealed to the MLAs to voluntarily give up the jobs.

Rajya Sabha member Partap Singh Bajwa appealed to his brother and MLA Fateh Singh Bajwa and legislator Rakesh Pandey to give up the offer from the cabinet for jobs to their sons on compassionate grounds. (HT file photo)

“I appeal to my younger brother and my associate Rakesh Pandey to voluntarily give up the offer from the cabinet for jobs to their kin on compassionate grounds. I am certain that this will be the best way to honour the memory of the departed leaders,” said Bajwa, who is the elder brother of Fateh Jung whose son has been given the job of an inspector.

Urging both the MLAs to consider his plea, Bajwa described his father Satnam Singh Bajwa and Joginder Pal Pandey (Rakesh Pandey’s father) as “mass leaders who served the public with distinction for decades. They laid their lives defending the unity and integrity of the nation during the dark times of militancy in Punjab. The MLAs should consider their long legacy.”

Pandey’s son has been offered the job of naib tehsildar.

These jobs were given by the cabinet on compassionate grounds last week with claims that their grandfathers were killed by terrorists 33 years ago.

Cabinet decision divides Congress

The cabinet decision has divided the Congress with many MLAs and Punjab Congress chief Sunil Jakhar opposing the move and asking the cabinet to withdraw the decision.

Within the cabinet as well, senior ministers Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, Tript Rajinder Bajwa, Charanjit Channi, Razia Sultana and Sukhbinder Sarkaria are opposed to the move.

However, on Sunday, nine ministers backed the decision.

Chief minister Capt Amarinder Singh defended the move, terming it a tribute to the sacrifices made by families of Congress leaders.