Amarinder under pressure to act

The CM, who arrived here late this evening following his trip to New Delhi, was closeted with senior officers. He is slated to meet Ratra and Joshi tomorrow. Joshi was taken in with Ratra’s wife, Kalpana, for questioning by the Panchkula Police on Monday night after the two were reportedly caught ‘‘indulging in objectionable activities’’ in a car.

According to highly placed sources, Ratra is learnt to have offered his resignation to the CM but was dissuaded by the latter, who felt the matter would die down. The next day the CM even denied that any such incident had taken place. Due to retire on January 31, Ratra had recently been given a three-month extension on the request of Amarinder.

While demand is growing to take action against Joshi, senior IAS officers argue that it would be very difficult for the Chief Secretary too to continue in office and command the moral authority to head the administrative side of the government following the scandal.

Amarinder is on the horns of a dilemma as Joshi is believed to have been a part of his ‘‘charmed circle’’ and brought to the state after prematurely ending his deputation elsewhere. Action against him could range from transfer to suspension or notice seeking an explanation. The CM could also order a probe into the incident.

A senior Congress politician says there is a political angle to the scandal. ‘‘The political dispensation in Haryana,’’ he points out, ‘‘has symbiotic ties with former CM P.S. Badal. Any probe that seeks to hush up the case could run into counter-exposure from Haryana police.’’