Khattar’s ‘preference’ for Punjabis upsets others

Naveen S Garewal

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 30

Caste is the hallmark of Haryana politics. But for a change, the BJP-ruled state government has said goodbye to the tradition of giving due representation to all “Chattis (36) biradaris”. Though Haryana is yet to resolve its territorial and linguistic disputes with neighbouring Punjab, the Chief Minister’s office is dominated by Punjabis and “Banias” only.

Senior state politicians have taken up this issue with Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and told him that the dominance of a particular community in his secretariat has sent a “wrong” signal and thereby asking him to expand the CMO with the induction of officers and OSDs from other communities. The same has been suggested for appointments to key position in the government.

A highly placed source in the government said: “Despite the slogan — ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’ — given by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and despite assurance of keeping the government above caste and giving due representation to all, Punjabis dominate the CMO. It starts from the Chief Minister, himself a Punjabi, and holds true in terms of all senior functionaries in the CMO”.

Though rivalry among groups of officers owing allegiance to factions within the services is common, one set of officers is now more vocal on the issue of choice of officials suggesting that the Chief Minister has a “bias” towards certain groups, namely those officers belonging to the Punjabi and “Bania” community. At the same time, certain officers have rubbished the suggestion, saying that the CM has handpicked the best in the field and focused on names that can deliver.

Even some BJP MLAs have expressed their displeasure over the Chief Minister expressing his “liking” for a certain community. A senior BJP functionary has been vocal in expressing his displeasure over the Chief Minister “relying on people known to be close to the previous Congress regime and who were yet to prove their loyalty to the current regime”.

Making a point, a non-Punjabi legislator said, “The Chief Minister himself is a Punjabi, the Chief Secretary is a Jatt Sikh (considered to be a Punjabi), the Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister too is a Punjabi. Similarly, many senior bureaucrats, including police officers, are Punjabis. There is a feeling in the government that non-Punjabis have been relegated to less important positions. Even in the police, thought the top position is held by a Bania, the second-most sought after position is held by a Punjabi”.

A senior officer, who sees nothing wrong in the scheme of things, said: “The recent reshuffle and indications of the proposed changes in the near future does not suggest that caste is anymore a criterion for appointment. In fact, this is a good sign as only merit is recognised”.