Chandigarh, August 16
The Punjab Government has rejected the resignation of suspended PPSC Chairman, Ravinder Pal Singh Sidhu.

Informed official sources said “the state government wanted that Sidhu should be removed from office by ordering his dismissal”. So in the light of this, there was no question of accepting his resignation.

The sources said Punjab Chief Secretary, Y. S. Ratra, who had received the case pertaining to Sidhu’s resignation from the office of the Punjab Governor, today sent the file after “processing” to the Punjab Chief Minister, Capt Amarinder Singh.

“If Sidhu was concerned about the dignity of the office he held and wanted to resign he should have done so immediately after his arrest. Why was he bothered now about the dignity of the office of Chairman of the PPSC?”

“He was trying to play smart as he knows that once he was dismissed, he would not be entitled to hold any government assignment in future and also to any benefit accruing after his resignation from the office of Chairman of the PPSC”, commented a senior government officer.

“We have forwarded Sidhu’s case for his removal to the President of India”, added the officer.

It may be mentioned that Sidhu’s counsel, Mr K.T. S. Tulsi, told the Supreme Court on August 12 that Mr Sidhu wanted to resign from the post on his own to “save the dignity of the constitutional post”.

About three months ago, the Punjab Government had forwarded Mr Sidhu’s case for removal to the President of India, who referred it to the Supreme Court for “inquiry and report in accordance with the procedure prescribed under Article 145 of the Constitution.” The Supreme Court has already issued notice to Mr Sidhu on a presidential reference seeking his removal from the post due to his alleged involvement in a recruitment scam. The case will come for hearing in the Supreme Court on Monday. It is expected that the Punjab Government’s decision on Mr Sidhu’s resignation might be made known to the Supreme Court on that day.

Meanwhile, the government is planning to hold a press conference tomorrow to clarify the position with regard to the Rs 5,000- crore loan from the IFC.