Bhagwant Mann Govt Bans Strikes by Public Officials to Tackle Corruption
Bhagwant Mann Govt Bans Strikes by Public Officials to Tackle Corruption
Now it is largely believed that if AAP and Bhagwant Mann are allowed to run the government for five years, they will completely ruin Punjab.
By Rakesh Raman
The Punjab Government headed by chief minister (CM) Bhagwant Mann has banned strikes by government officials from September 1.
The government invoked the East Punjab Essential Services (Maintenance) Act (ESMA), barring government employees from leaving their place of posting until October 31 or till further orders.
The strikes have been prohibited following the state revenue officials’ call for an indefinite pen-down strike from September 1. Reports suggest that over 2,000 employees of the Revenue Patwar Union and the Revenue Kanungo Association, have called for an indefinite pen-down strike.
The employees have given the call to strike work to protect their colleagues in the revenue department who are facing corruption allegations. A corruption case was registered against the employees in the Sangrur district about a week ago.
Now, the government indicates that the employees are arm-twisting the anti-corruption agencies to get the corruption case against the government officials dropped.
The bureaucrats in the Bhagwant Mann government assert that the violation of ESMA by employees will attract strict penalties including dismissal from service and imprisonment for up to three years.
The employees are also threatening to protest to get their various demands accepted by the government. In a tweeted Punjabi video message on August 30, Bhagwant Mann warned the employees against the strike.
He said that if they leave their positions without permission, they can be replaced by other employees and asked them not to support those who are involved in bribery or corruption cases.
PROTESTS IN PUNJAB
Since Bhagwant Mann is a totally illiterate politician, he is not able to manage government affairs in the state. As a result, constant protests by the unemployed people, teachers, farmers, victims of drug mafia, and others are happening in Punjab.
The misgovernance in the state has reached such a level that a couple of days ago, Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit warned Bhagwant Mann with the imposition of President’s rule under Article 356 of the Constitution after dismissing his government.
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[ Also Read: Arvind Kejriwal in Delhi = Bhagwant Mann in Punjab = Disaster for People ]
In his communication to Bhagwant Mann, the Governor expressed his displeasure on lack of responsiveness by the CM on a range of issues, including his failure to stop lethal drug trade in Punjab.
In just over a year of his rule in Punjab, Bhagwant Mann has completely destroyed the state. Bhagwant Mann and the top leader in his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal are squandering huge public money of Punjab Government on advertisements in Punjab and other states to promote their party and their own images with fake publicity campaigns.
Today, with multiple protests by different sections of society, Punjab is witnessing a state of complete unrest while Bhagwant Mann – who is working as a puppet of Kejriwal and other AAP politicians in Delhi – has completely failed in running the government.
Consequently, the people of Punjab are suffering under extreme political corruption, lawlessness, unemployment, drug addiction, mafia culture, youth exodus, religious fundamentalism, and state oppression.
Like in Delhi, almost all AAP politicians in Punjab are allegedly involved in multiple criminal cases including corruption, property grabbing, collusion with drug mafia and liquor mafia, encroachment of large government land, and so on.
For example, a Jagraon MLA Sarvjit Kaur Manuke belonging to Kejriwal’s AAP has been accused of illegally grabbing a house of a Canada-based NRI. Despite multiple complaints and protests against her, Bhagwant Mann and Kejriwal have not removed Ms. Manuke from the party and police have not taken any action against her and her accomplices in the land mafia.
Last year, the Bhagwant Mann government had sacked and arrested Punjab health minister Vijay Singla over corruption charges. However, it was a dirty ploy to deceive the public and falsely show that Bhagwant Mann is against corruption. But now Singla is moving freely and Bhagwant Mann openly hobnobs with the “corrupt” minister.
In April 2023, the Punjab vigilance bureau said it has filed a chargesheet against AAP MLA from Bathinda Rural seat Amit Rattan Kotfatta and his personal assistant in a bribery case.
However, the opposition parties claim that the AAP will not take any penal action against its corrupt Punjab leaders including Fauja Singh Sarari, Amit Rattan Kotfatta, Vijay Singla, and others.
Also, the civil society groups are protesting vociferously as they allege that a local AAP MLA is involved in a huge land grabbing scam around Mattewara forest in Ludhiana.
Activists assert that a large area of government land belonging to Greater Ludhiana Area Development Authority (GLADA) near Mattewara has been illegally occupied in collusion with the AAP MLA. It is also alleged to be an environmental crime.
But the dormant Bhagwant Mann government is not taking any steps to tame its dishonest leaders. Moreover, the police and bureaucrats in the state are so corrupt that they work hand in glove with the criminal politicians and turn a blind eye to the crimes happening in Punjab.
Bhagwant Mann has not only damaged the social status of Punjab, but the illiterate man has also ruined the economic structure in the state as he does not understand any subject required to govern a state.
While the Punjab debt has already crossed Rs. 300,000-crore mark, the Bhagwant Mann government has failed to control government expenditure. As a result, severe unemployment has hit the state and people are running away from Punjab to live in other countries.
COLLUSION IN CRIME
Among other crimes, drug addiction is a major problem which is killing thousands of people – men as well as women – in the state. A 2022 study by the Post Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) revealed that over 3 million people consume drugs in Punjab, while the state government has failed to stop addiction.
In order to win Punjab election deceptively last year, Kejriwal made a false promise of combating the drug menace in just three months of forming the AAP government.
However, after a year of the Bhagwant Mann government, the drug situation has gone from bad to worse and lethal drugs are being openly sold in almost all parts of Punjab in collusion with police and other officials.
It is alleged that Bhagwant Mann is not willing to stop drug addiction because AAP politicians are involved in this lucrative racket which is killing the youth of Punjab. The priority of AAP is to make money by hook or by crook in Delhi and Punjab so that the party could expand its operations in different states of India.
The AAP is not ready to take action against its corrupt ministers and MLAs because it is alleged that AAP sold election tickets to them for crores of rupees. Now these politicians are committing acts of corruption to recover the bribe money they paid to AAP.
When the harassed people protest, their voice is suppressed with force. Under directions from the Bhagwant Mann government, the police unleash brutality on protesting farmers, teachers, and social activists, and many of them are arrested and jailed under frivolous charges.
The human rights violations are so rampant in Punjab that the Bhagwant Mann government is being criticized in different parts of the world. In March 2023, U.S. Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) expressed deep concern over increasing human rights abuses in Punjab, which has a large number of people belonging to the Sikh minority community.
Ms. Omar urged the U.S. administration to protect the human rights of all, particularly the rights of all religious and ethnic minorities. In a statement, Rep. Omar – who represents Minnesota’s 5th Congressional District in the U.S. House of Representatives – said that she is profoundly concerned about the human rights situation in Punjab, India.
Now it is largely believed that if AAP and Bhagwant Mann are allowed to run the government for five years, they will completely ruin Punjab. However, today there is no effective opposition in the state to challenge AAP.
The main opposition political outfits – including Congress, Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) – are almost extinct in Punjab. The so-called leaders in these parties are so corrupt and weak, that they do not question the wrongdoings of the government.
Worse, despite AAP corruption cases, the Congress party has decided to join hands with AAP to jointly contest the 2024 Lok Sabha election.
A few social activists are working in Punjab but they are not quite organized. Therefore, their random protests have no impact on CM Bhagwant Mann who is running the government without any accountability.
Obviously, the people of Punjab are facing a dreadful future and soon they may lose their history and identity as Delhi-based AAP has refused to understand and address the local problems.
Now the only alternative with Punjabis is to form a new political group of local leaders who have been working selflessly for the people of Punjab.
By Rakesh Raman, who is a national award-winning journalist and social activist. He is the founder of the humanitarian organization RMN Foundation which is working in diverse areas to help the disadvantaged and distressed people in the society. He has also launched the “Power Play: Lok Sabha Election 2024 in India” editorial section to cover the news, events, and other developments related to the 2024 election.
