Hiring scam: Punjab Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan in fix over picking probe team

Tribune News Service

Ruchika M Khanna

Chandigarh, April 29

The AAP has set the cat among the pigeons by declaring a probe in recruitments in the Vidhan Sabha during the tenure of the previous Congress government.

The biggest problem, however, being faced by Speaker Kultar Singh Sandhwan is choosing a team of investigators, as the names of most of the top officials in the Vidhan Sabha figure in the complaint alleging a scam in recruitments.

Weighing options

It is a tough job. I am weighing various options, including setting up a committee of MLAs to investigate the matter and then submit a report to me. Kultar Singh Sandhwan, House speaker

“It is a tough job (to investigate),” admitted Sandhwan, while talking to The Tribune. “I am weighing various options, including setting up a committee of MLAs to investigate the matter and then submit a report to me. The role of officers, whose names figure in the complaint, will also be investigated. It is my duty to conduct a thorough probe as it deals with recruitments in a place where laws are formed. Any violation of law in appointments deserves to be dealt with strictly,” he said.

Interestingly, allegations are being levelled against a former Vidhan Sabha officer of having got seven relatives/acquaintances appointed. In all, 13 of the 154 appointees under the scanner are relatives of officials already posted in the House.

“I have received complaints, saying one of the (now retired) officers was given an extension in service after superannuation, only to facilitate these recruitments. This too will be probed,” he said.

While the common man hailed the move, seen by them as an act of acting tough against the privileges class, the latter remain defiant.

Most of the Congress leaders, whose names figure in the complaint made by Jails Minister Harjot Singh Bains, for facing favoured their relatives/acquaintances by securing the elusive “sarkari naukri”, have denied any wrongdoing, though in hushed tones, they question “breach of their rights as lawmakers”. “As representatives of people, they want us to help them. What is wrong with this?” they say.

The Tribune, which carried the news in its columns today, has been flooded with calls from many candidates, without any political connections, who were looking for jobs and were not selected. Sukhpreet Singh Chahal, who was appointed on compassionate grounds after the death of his father, in his representation to the government, claimed since he was on medical leave, he was “deemed to have resigned” while on medical leave and the post was allotted to a “favourite “of a former MLA.

The complaint, on the basis of which an inquiry is being ordered, says 62 of 154 suspicious appointments in the previous 15th Vidhan Sabha were made on the recommendation of ex-Speaker Rana KP Singh. He has denied the charge, calling it a “malicious campaign” against him.

About The Author

Tribune News Service

The Tribune News Service brings you the latest news, analysis and insights from the region, India and around the world. Follow the Tribune News Service for a wide-ranging coverage of events as they unfold, with perspective and clarity.

Join Whatsapp Channel of The Tribune for latest updates.

#kultar singh sandhwan