Even as the Punjab government is watching Governor Banwarilal Purohit eagerly on whether he would give his assent to important Bills that was passed in the recently concluded Cabinet meeting, sources said that Purohit has also been sitting on Punjab State Vigilance Commission (Repeal) Bill, 2022, brought by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government to dissolve the Vigilance Commission nine months ago. The government has neither heard from the governor nor has it passed the Bill again in the Assembly to send it to Purohit again. CM Bhagwant Mann and Purohit do not enjoy a good working equation and the both have been on a confrontational path for months now. The Vigilance Bill was tabled by Mann on October 1, 2022, to dissolve the Commission set up by former CM Amarinder Singh’s government. It was sent to the Governor on October 10 same year. In absence of Purohit’s assent, the Bill is still pending and the Vigilance Commission continues to work with Justice Mehtab Singh Gill (retd) in saddle as its chairperson. Justice Gill was also an appointee of former CM Amarinder Singh. Sources said the government was not told the reason why the Bill was not being signed as the Governor had not written anything to the government about it, nor raised any objections. While tabling the Bill, Mann had said that the Vigilance Commission was not needed in the state. “There are multiple agencies in the state, including the state vigilance department, to deal with corruption cases. Therefore, to avoid overlapping, contradictory findings, resultant delays and gaps in communication, it has become necessary to repeal the Punjab State Vigilance Commission Act 2020 (Punjab Act No 20 of 2020),” the CM had said adding that the Bill was in the larger interest of the public. He has also said that the Commission was mandated to inquire or initiate inquires into complaints against public servants under the Prevention of Corruption Act 1988, and Prevention of Corruption (Amendment) Act, 2018, however, it had failed to serve any useful objective except being a burden on the state exchequer. Government officials said that the government wanted to bring a stricter system by disbanding the Commission as the AAP government was tightening its noose around previous ministers and MLAs besides several officials in cases of alleged corruption. He added the state commission, set up on November 13, 2020, was supposed to function on the lines of the Central vigilance commission, but it had serious deviations. It is not only Mann’s government that wants to disband the Commission. It was done by previous SAD-BJP government also. Amarinder took over the reins of the state twice and during both his terms he had set up the Vigilance Commission. The state vigilance commission was first set up in October 2006 during the Congress regime. However, soon after assuming power, the Parkash Singh Badal-led SAD-BJP government in March 2007 dissolved it. Following this, the commission was constituted again in November 2020. Amarinder Singh government had appointed Justice Mehtab Singh Gill, (retired) of the Punjab and Haryana high court as the head of the commission in April 2021 and his tenure was to end in April 2026. Once the governor gives his assent, the post and office will cease to exist. During his 2002 tenure, Amarinder Singh had appointed former High Court judge Amar Dutt as its first chairman, but in 2007, the Akali Dal formed the BJP government and disbanded the commission. The Vigilance Commission is also responsible for appointments to the Vigilance Bureau. The government had recently sent four Bills, including Punjab University Laws (Amendment) Bill 2023, The Punjab Affiliated Colleges (Security of Service) Amendment Bill, 2023, The Punjab Police (Amendment) Bill, 2023 and Sikh Gurdwaras (Amendment) Bill, 2023 to Purohit. It is early waiting for Governor’s assent.
