The flip-flop by the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab surrounding the ‘panchayats’ — dissolving all ‘panchayats’ across the State and, days later, rolling back its ‘technically flawed’ decision — appears to have left the State government red-faced and given the Opposition parties ammunition to target Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann.
On August 31, the State government informed the Punjab and Haryana High Court that it was withdrawing its decision to dissolve the ‘panchayats’ during the hearing of a petition challenging the government’s order, notified on August 10. The State government had issued a notification on August 10, dissolving all ‘gram panchayats’, ‘panchayat samitis’, and ‘zila parishads’ in the State. The order also stated that the general election of the members of ‘panchayat samitis’ and the ‘zila parishads’ would be held by November 25, 2023, and those of the ‘gram panchayats’ would be held by December 31, 2023.
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The AAP government’s move to dissolve the panchayats drew stiff resistance from Opposition parties including the Congress, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), and the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP), who termed the decision as ‘unconstitutional’, demanding its withdrawal. The government continued to defend its move amid increasing pressure from Opposition parties seeking that it withdraw the notification, asserting that the order was in accordance with Constitutional provisions.
However, on August 31, when the State government took a u-turn, and decided to withdraw the notification, the onus for the fiasco was put on the bureaucracy. The State government suspended two senior IAS officers including Dhirendra Kumar Tiwari, Principal Secretary (Rural Development-Panchayats) and Gurpreet Singh Khaira, Director (Rural Development-Panchayats). In a statement, Rural Development and Panchayats Minister Laljit Singh Bhullar said the State government had suspended the principal secretary and director of the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj department with immediate effect for taking a “technically-flawed” decision regarding the dissolution of panchayats’.
On Friday, the Opposition accused the AAP government of making the ‘bureaucracy’ a scapegoat for its ‘unconstitutional’ decision. Former Minister and Akali Dal leader Bikram Singh Majithia said Mr. Mann and Mr. Bhullar were responsible for signing and implementing the decision to dissolve ‘panchayats’ six months before their term in Punjab. Mr. Majithia said the file relating to the decision had been signed by the Chief Minister and the Minister. “Now, the AAP government is trying to make scapegoats of senior IAS officers by suspending them. The real culprits are the Panchayati Raj Minister and the CM.. AAP Convener Arvind Kejriwal should dismiss them immediately,” he said.
Seeking the resignation of the Chief Minister, the leader of the Opposition in Punjab, Congress MP Partap Singh Bajwa said it was shameful that Mr. Mann, who signed off on the decision to dissolve the ‘panchayats’, had tried to scapegoat two bureaucrats to protect himself and his Minister. “If the CM had any morals, it is he who should own moral responsibility and resign forthrightly,” he said.
Former Chief Minister and BJP leader Captain Amarinder Singh too criticised the AAP government and demanded that the Chief Minister step down from his post, instead of passing the buck to his officers.
