For about 21 months, Punjab minister Dhaliwal held Administrative Reforms dept which did not exist
Chandigarh (PTI): Punjab Cabinet Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal was told he is left with only NRI Affairs portfolio as the administrative reforms department he was holding for the past nearly 21 months did not exist, according to a government notification.
No staff was given to the minister for the Administrative Reforms department and no meeting related to it was held, sources said.
Opposition BJP leaders said this showed the seriousness of Bhagwant Mann's government in the state.
A government notification issued on Friday read, "In partial modification of Punjab Government Notification No. 21/1/2022-2 Cabinet/2230 dated 23.09.24, regarding allocation of portfolios among ministers, the department of Administrative Reforms earlier allocated to Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, Cabinet Minister, is not in existence as on date."
Therefore, on the advice of the CM, the governor is pleased to make the amendment effective from February 2, 2025, it said.
Dhaliwal was given the administrative department portfolio in May 2023 during a cabinet reshuffle when he was relieved of the Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare portfolio but retained the NRI Affairs department. The portfolio of Agriculture and Farmers' Welfare had been given to Gurmeet Singh Khuddian.
Meanwhile, opposition parties on Saturday took a jibe at the AAP government, saying this shows how much the AAP government was serious about governance.
Punjab BJP general secretary Subhash Sharma said, "It shows the government's mental bankruptcy that a department, which is not in existence, has been allocated. Neither those who allotted it, nor those who had been allotted the department was aware of the fact that this department was not in existence," said Sharma.
SAD leader and Bathinda MP Harsimrat Kaur Badal also took a jibe at the AAP government.
"Governance @AAPPunjab style. Allocate non-existent departments to ministers who themselves are ignorant of the portfolios they hold. All this is happening because ministers have no role in governance as the government is being run with remote control from Delhi," said Badal in a post on X.
Punjab Congress chief and Ludhiana MP Amrinder Singh Raja Warring also took a swipe at the government in a post. Sharing a newspaper clipping on the matter, he wrote "What a 'Badlaav'!"
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SP has ended contract with I-PAC due to fund constraints: Akhilesh Yadav
Lucknow (PTI): Samajwadi Party president Akhilesh Yadav on Wednesday said his party has severed its association with the Indian Political Action Committee (I-PAC) due to a lack of funds.
He dismissed speculations that the termination of contract was because of recent election results.
Addressing a press conference here, Yadav said the party had engaged I-PAC for a brief period ahead of the 2027 Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections but could not continue the arrangement.
"Yes, we had an association. They worked with us for a few months, but we are not able to continue because we do not have that kind of funding," he said.
The I-PAC is a political consultancy firm known for managing major election campaigns across the country.
Election strategist-turned-politician Prashant Kishor has also been associated with the organisation in the past and has worked with multiple parties, including the BJP and the Congress.
In a lighter vein, Yadav took a swipe at the ecosystem of political consultancies. "We thought that if we have to work with a 'winning agency', then there are several big companies."
He said that some people suggested conducting surveys, hiring another firm, keeping a social media company, and even engaging agencies for negative campaigning against other parties.
"There are one or two more companies whose names are not yet known. I can get those for you as well," Yadav said.
Yadav rejected the suggestion that the decision to end the deal was influenced by recent election outcomes in states such as West Bengal.
"There is no such thing. Do not ask questions based on baseless reports. That is not true," he said.
"This is not the reason for ending the agreement. We simply do not have enough funds. If you (the media) give us funds, we can hire another company," the former Uttar Pradesh chief minister said.
