Regional journal: Cabinet meet can wait
A Cabinet meeting of Punjab’s Aam Aadmi Party-led government slated this week is set to be postponed. Reason: Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann is leaving on a private trip to Australia. The Cabinet was to take up the proposed National Policy Framework on Agricultural Marketing amid growing concerns over the state’s agrarian economy. The Cabinet has met only five times this year and the chances of the sixth one happening anytime soon seem bleak.
Leadership jitters
Senior Punjab Congress leaders find themselves in a Catch-22 situation. The cancellation of an FIR against former minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu in the Rs 2,000-crore transportation scam has left senior Jat leaders uneasy. They believe Ashu, a prominent Hindu leader and working president of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee, may emerge as a contender to lead the state unit — especially after AAP appointed Aman Arora, also a Hindu face, as its state chief. The question is whether or not the Congress will play the religion card to counter AAP and the BJP ahead of the next Assembly polls.
Dhankhar at witty best!
Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar, who is often at his wits’ end to keep ‘unruly’ MPs in check in the Rajya Sabha, appeared completely at ease during Panjab University’s alumni meet in Chandigarh. Taking the stage as the Chancellor, he delivered a speech rich in wit, sarcasm and anecdotes, peppered with jokes and valuable advice. Dhankhar didn’t shy away from taking jabs at academia, the corporate world and the Press. He urged the corporate sector to loosen its purse strings for the university’s fledgling endowment fund and called on academia and alumni to play their part in empowering the PU community. His unsolicited advice to the Press? Be free and fair to achieve the vision of Viksit Bharat. Who says politicians can’t be interesting?
Star factor
Arjun Partap Bajwa, son of BJP leader Fateh Jung Singh Bajwa and nephew of Qadian Congress MLA and Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa, has “earned” the sobriquet of Gurdaspur’s ‘Nawab of Qadian’ ever since his ‘Rajasthan Holiday’ photos with actor Sara Ali Khan went viral. An avid mountaineer, Arjun, who is preparing to scale Mount Kilimanjaro, has to his credit a meaty role in Bollywood film Band of Maharajas. Carrying forward family’s political legacy, Arjun is also an elected member of the Gurdaspur Zila Parishad.
Contributed by Ruchika M Khanna, Rajmeet Singh, Pradeep Sharma and Ravi Dhaliwal
