Copy of file linked to Punjab panchayat elections surfaces online; has signatures of CM Bhagwant Mann and minister Laljit Bhullar

Ruchika M Khanna 

Chandigarh, September 1

A copy of the file based on which elections to panchayats in Punjab were announced has surfaced online.

The file has signatures of both Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Rural Development Minister Laljit Bhullar, besides the two IAS officers who were suspended over the panchayat elections row on Thursday.

The suspension of both DK Tiwari, who was Financial Commissioner, Rural Development; and Gurpreet Singh Khaira, Director, Rural Development; has created an unease in the government.

What a shame for @BhagwantMann & @BhullarLaljit Panchayats Minister to approve dissolution of Panchayats according to official noting doing the rounds on social media and then make IAS officers scapegoats for their foolish actions. I urge the bureaucracy of Punjab not to become… pic.twitter.com/ZETPGk0pWS

— Sukhpal Singh Khaira (@SukhpalKhaira) September 1, 2023

A copy of the file, which is in circulation since Friday morning, shows that both the Chief Minister and Rural Development Minister have signed the file. The Opposition has been questioning the government as to why action has been taken only against officers, while the minister concerned has been spared.

A spokesperson in the Chief Minister’s Office said, “The CM and the minister only approved what the officers had put on the file. They were not informed by the officers that the due processes before declaration of elections and dissolution of panchayats were not followed by the officers. Thus, the government had to face embarrassment in the court. As soon as the CM was apprised of this, he immediately ordered the withdrawal of the notification. How can they be responsible for the actions of the officers?”

Meanwhile, it has also created ripples in the state bureaucracy, with many officers claiming that the two officers placed under suspension were only acting on the instructions of their political bosses.

The Punjab government had suspended two senior IAS officers on Thursday for a “technically-flawed” decision hours after taking a “U-turn” by informing the high court that it is withdrawing its notification dissolving all gram panchayats in the state.

The government suspended 1994-batch IAS officer Dhirendra Kumar Tiwari, Principal Secretary, Rural Development and Panchayats; and 2009-batch IAS officer Gurpreet Singh Khaira, Director, Rural Development and Panchayats and ex-officio Special Secretary, Rural Development and Panchayats; under the provisions of Rule 3(1) of the All India Services (Discipline and Appeal) Rules, 1969, according to an official order.