In Punjab's power corridors, he was often called the ‘‘Super Chief Minister’’, was famous for relating tales of his days with ‘‘Super Cop’’ K.P.S. Gill and used to prefix every demand with ‘‘super’’.Bharat Inder Singh Chahal, till date Advisor to Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, is finally out of the job. Just three days ago, he had been sent on leave and today Amarinder announced that he was out of his job — only after a pointed query.‘‘He will be assigned some appropriate task.when he returns from the three-month leave, he will not be returning to the same job,’’ Amarinder said. This was supposed to be the big announcement about Chahal’s ouster, but not for once did Amarinder say that in so many words.Chahal, in tandem with the CM’s Principal Secretary Sanjit K.Sinha, was known for his coterie-style way of functioning and controlled access to the CM. Even ministers and bureaucrats had to go through him for an audience, a fact which the CM painfully recognised today in a rather candid press conference.Senior PR officers conceded they lived in mortal fear of not only him, but also of the favoured scribes he courted. ‘‘Commando journalists’’ was a term coined soon after Chahal became Advisor, and almost all scribes knew who these were.Rewind to 1980 and Chahal was just a PRO, moving on to become a District Public Relations Officer (DPRO) in Ropar. A transfer to Patiala gave the necessary boost to his career when he struck a friendship with Sinha, then Deputy Commissioner there. Sinha became a Divisional Commissioner, Chahal a DPRO of more consequence than the rest. In late eighties, Sinha became Director of Public Relations department of the state, and promoted Chahal as Deputy Director.With K.P.S. Gill calling the shots during militancy, Chahal, who got deputed with him to look after the DGP’s and police’s media projection, had unbriddled powers. With the return of Parkash Singh Badal, Chahal was shunted to Ferozepur but, in a move which seems ironical with hindsight, Badal got him transferred back to Chandigarh reportedly on Amarinder’s sifarish.During the fag end of Badal’s regime, Chahal openly flaunted his loyalty to Amarinder and proclaimed that Maharaja would become CM. Even an inquiry instituted at the instance of Election Commission fizzled out when he resigned from the post of Joint Director to become Amarinder’s Advisor the day he took over. That day Sinha became Principal Secretary to Amarinder, a job he lost alongwith Chahal.Amarinder conceded how close a friend Chahal was and said he ousted him with a heavy heart. ‘‘Perhaps he overstepped the mark,’’ the CM said in what could be a gross understatement.
