Punjab Cabinet rejig: Controversial statements land Dr Inderbir Singh Nijjer, Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal in trouble
Dr Inderbir Singh Nijjer had to resign as local bodies minister, while Dhaliwal lost his two important departments - Agriculture and Rural Development and Panchayats.
Dr Inderbir Singh Nijjer (left), Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal (right). (FB/ Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal) The Punjab Cabinet reshuffle that took place on Wednesday cost dear to two ministers who put the AAP-led state government in a state of embarrassment with their controversial statements. One of the ministers lost his Cabinet berth while the other had to lose his two key portfolios.
Dr Inderbir Singh Nijjer had to resign as local bodies minister following a controversy over calling Ajit newspaper’s editor-in-chief Barjinder Singh Hamdard an honest man, after Vigilance had summoned him in connection with Jang-E-Azadi memorial funds.
Meanwhile, Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal lost his two important departments – Agriculture and Rural Development and Panchayats – for stating that he would speak to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann to include IELTS in the curricula of colleges and universities. Dhaliwal’s remarks on IELTS in the university curriculum had come at a time when CM Mann has been stressing on reversing the brain drain and exhorting the youth of the state to stay put. Sources said that his remarks had upset the Chief Minister.
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