Govt wants ex-CMs’ ‘blue-eyed boy’ Amarpal Singh as Ludhiana DC, stirs row

Nitin Jain

Tribune News Service

Ludhiana, November 14

The state government’s proposal to post Amarpal Singh, considered a ‘blue-eyed boy’ of former Chief Ministers Parkash Singh Badal and Capt Amarinder Singh, as the new Ludhiana DC has stirred a controversy here.

The main Opposition Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), while smelling foul behind the move, which it says belies the Congress’ promise to provide a ‘corruption-free’ regime and will hamper the process to ensure free and fair Assembly elections due early 2022, has moved the Election Commission of India (ECI) against the government’s proposal. The party has also threatened a mass agitation in case the present Ludhiana DC, Varinder Kumar Sharma, was transferred.

The AAP alleged that the incumbent DC was being ‘targeted’ for working against the interests of the land mafia and wrongdoings involving senior leaders of the ruling Congress.

The row erupted after the government sent a proposal seeking prior nod of the ECI to replace Sharma with Singh, who was at present posted as the State Transport Commissioner (STC).

As per the ECI guidelines, the prior approval of the Commission was mandatory in case of any need for the transfer of any officer engaged in the revision of electoral rolls during an election year due to any extraordinary reasons.

In a representation to the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), the AAP Punjab unit submitted that the present DC was being transferred at the behest of the state government as he had angered the ruling party leaders for stalling the sale of a prime government land at throwaway prices and ordering an inquiry into wrongdoings of a local Congress MLA.

“His actions have been exemplary, which have angered certain ministers and ruling MLAs, who now want to transfer him out without ascertaining any extraordinary reason as mandated by the ECI,” the AAP Ludhiana Lok Sabha in-charge Amandeep Singh Mohi said while addressing a press conference here on Sunday.

Apprehending that the government’s move smacks of ulterior motive, the main Opposition party alleged that the ‘controversial’ officer recommended to be posted as the new Ludhiana DC was close to former CMs, one of whom had pardoned him in the multi-crore iron ore scam in 2017 and the other had promoted him to the IAS.

The AAP urged the CEC to reject the proposal sent by the state government and order continuation of the incumbent officer as the Ludhiana DC to ensure free and fair Assembly elections due early next year.

Pertinently, the then CM Parkash Singh Badal, a day before the imposition of the election code of conduct on January 2, 2017, had ‘let off’ PCS officer Amarpal Singh with a warning “to be careful in future”, following which former CM Capt Amarinder Singh had recommended his promotion to the IAS and later posted him as STC. Badal’s pardon was not only contrary to his previous order to impose major penalty against the senior IAS and PCS officers found guilty of causing loss of more than Rs 23 crore to the state exchequer.

Earlier, then Chief Secretary Rakesh Singh had endorsed major penalty on both officers – IAS Kirpa Shankar Saroj and PCS Amarpal Singh — as recommended by the departmental inquiry conducted against them.

The case dates back to 2004-05 when during the Congress regime, New Delhi-based Reliance Polycrete Limited (RPL) duped Punjab Agro Foodgrains Corporation (PAFC) of more than Rs 23 crore in the export of iron ore.

Swerving from its basic and mandated agro foodgrain business, the PAFC had entered into an agreement with the RPF on April 30, 2004, for export of iron ore. Worse still, the PAFC had also ignored the legal advice of getting the mortgage deed submitted by the RPL, registered.

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