Chandigarh Confidential

Memory loss?

The symptoms could be those of forgetfulness but they appear to be carrying the risk of being diagnosed as the foot-in-the-mouth disease. Blissfully unaware of the work done by their predecessors,the new BJP mantris have been presenting old schemes in new packages. Health Minister Satpal Gosain announced setting up of CM Cancer Relief Fund,not knowing it already existed. The proof: former Finance Minister Manpreet Badal while resigning from the Assembly in March last had donated his salary and allowances to the fund. Similarly,Forest Minister Arunesh Shakar boasted of a policy whereby the Punjab government had decided to purchase barren land from farmers so that forest could be developed. He claimed to have received an overwhelming response with farmers offering 2,012 acres. This policy too was evolved during the tenure of his predecessor. Looks like it is time for the new ministers to jog their memories and move forward.

A minister’s belated shot at comfort

If you are a minister,act like one. This appears to be the lesson Punjab Social Security Minister Laxmi Kanta Chawla has learnt after being in the government for four-and-half years. With not much time before Punjab goes to polls,Chawla has finally decided to upgrade from her current single room accommodation in the MLA hostel to an official house allotted to a cabinet rank minister. But Chawla’ s belated decision has set off a game of musical chairs in the government cirlces. While the bungalow of former BJP minister Manoranjan Kalia was to be handed over to the re-inducted minister Tikshan Sood,Sood’s bungalow was to go to Akali minister Balbir Bath. But with Kalia in no mood to budge,Sood stays where he is and Bath still awaits sarkari accommodation. With only six-seven months remaining in power,the SAD-BJP ministers apparently want to live king-size while it lasts.

On a low after ‘high’ moral ground

Barely a month-and-a-half after it dropped senior BJP leader Manoranjan Kalia from the Punjab cabinet,the BJP has made him a member of the national executive of the party. National General Secretary and spokesman of the party J.P Nadda recently said Kalia’s removal had nothing to do with CBI questioning him but was done as part of long-pending decision to restructure the party. The BJP’s predicament is clear. While it was trying to corner the UPA government at the Centre on corruption,the CBI case against Punjab ministers forced it to take a moral high ground in the state. But the promptness the BJP showed in getting rid of Kalia has now been replaced by a more cautious approach with the party clearly in no mood to act in haste. This was evident when on corruption charges levelled against Tikshan Sood and a CBI probe against Laxmi Kanta Chawla,all Nadda said was,“We are keeping a eye on BJP leaders and corruption will not be tolerated.’’

Clueless,Akali style

The Shiromani Akali Dal was quick to bolster ally BJP’s campaign against corruption and black money by announcing dharnas across Punjab on June 16. These demonstrations are to be staged across all district headquarters in front of deputy commissioners’ offices. But a few circle jathedars of the party appeared clueless about whom to target in these protests and enquired from the party head-office whether they are against corruption at the Centre or the State level. The party high command’s timely advice that the target was obviously the Centre had many politicians in splits. Many in SAD,however,kept wondering about how their foot-soldiers could come back with such an unintelligent query.