PRTC managing director Ravinder Singh resigns

Gagan K Teja
Tribune News Service
Patiala, March 30

The managing director of Pepsu Road Transport Corporation, Ravinder Singh, who is considered to be a close confidant of the Badals, resigned from the post of MD on Thursday.

He had retired on December 31, 2016, and was reappointed as PRTC MD by the SAD-BJP government just hours ahead of the implementation of the election code of conduct. 

Sources claim that the MD decided to call it quits since he was expecting that the newly formed Congress government would target him soon and it would be better to resign on his own. 

The move had raised eyebrows and had also snowballed into a political controversy considering that Ravinder Singh was believed to have helped the SAD while he was the returning officer at Lambi (Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal’s constituency). He was suspended by the ECI in 2002 for his alleged partisan role but was reinstated later.
He was appointed managing director of the PRTC in 2016 and retired from the post on December 31, 2016. However, Ravinder Singh was reappointed as managing director on January 4 which did not go down well with the opposition. The Congress had alleged that Ravinder had a history of “enjoying good rapport” with the Akalis.

However, his tenure was good for the PRTC considering that they were able to bring down their financial liabilities to a large extent.