Khattar govt forced to drop one HPSC member’s name

Pradeep Sharma

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, August 8

With differences in the Council of Ministers over the appointment of members to the Haryana Public Service Commission (HPSC) coming to the fore today, the Khattar Government was forced to drop one name from the list of three appointees.

While Governor Kaptan Singh Solanki administered the oath of office and secretary to two new members,Neeta Khera and Jai Bhagwan Goyal, the name of third appointee Narender Yadav was ‘withheld’ at the eleventh hour. The oath-taking ceremony was attended, among others, by Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar and Transport Minister Krishan Lal Panwar and Minister of State for Public Health Engineering Banwari Lal. However, senior ministers were conspicuous by their absence. .

Earlier, the state government had zeroed in on the names of Neeta Khera, a former municipal councillor from Ambala Cantonment, Jai Bhagwan Goyal, a confidant of Union Minister Birender Singh from Jind, and Narender Yadav, considered close to state minister Rao Narbir Singh.

However, Education Minister Ram Bilas Sharma, reportedly lodged a strong protest over Yadav’s nomination. Sharma reportedly met senior leaders in New Delhi, including RSS organisation in charge for Haryana Ram Lal, following which a direction to ‘withhold’ Yadav’s came to the state government.

Sources said Sharma brought to the party high command’s notice how leaders, who worked against the party in the 2014 Assembly elections, were being elevated to the constitutional posts. Yadav allegedly worked against Sharma in the Mahendragarh assembly segment in the 2014 Assembly poll.

Even Health Minister Anil Vij has reportedly taken umbrage at not being consulted about Khera’s nomination. Khera belongs to Ambala Cantonment, the constituency represented by Vij in the Assembly.

Over the years, the HPSC has become a parking place for favorites of the government of the day.

With the induction of two new members, the HPSC will have four members appointed by the BJP government as against three by former Congress Government headed by Bhupinder Singh Hooda.

While Chairman Manbir Singh Bhadana and Surender Sharma, Neelam Singh and Rajesh Vaid were appointed during the Hooda regime, Vandana Sharma and Kulbir Chhikara were appointed during the current BJP regime.