The Punjab Congress has vehemently protested against the backdrop recruitment of 22 employees in the Intelligence Wing in violation of all norms. Addressing mediapersons here on Wednesday, Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) vice president and spokesman Sunil Jakhar produced documents showing that the Additional Director General Intelligence Wing had appointed 22 persons to the post of Intelligence Assistants in the rank of Constable and even hastily ordered their postings to border areas.Of the new recruitees, 21 hailed from Sukhbir Badal’s Jalalabad constituency while one belonged to Abohar, said Jakhar. Among the beneficiaries are Arniwala Nagar Panchayat president Sukhdev Singh Arniwala, SAD SC Wing president Pyara Singh, SAD Arniwala Circle president Nishan Singh and son of Kaur Singh, who is SGPC member and resident of Bahavwala, a village near Abohar. Former CLP leader Jakhar said Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister Sukhbir Badal had thrown all norms of propriety to the winds in making these appointments in total violation of administrative rules shortly before the code of conduct was expected to be imposed in the state, thus breaking all records of unethical behaviour. He said the party will approach the Election Commission and the state Governor to cancel the appointments.
Jakhar alleged that in the guise of police recruitment, the government had minted money from more than 6.5 lakh unemployed youth though less than 7000 policeman had to be recruited. While the rest of the appointments were still pending, Sukhbir Badal, on 22nd December, got the recruitment in border areas done to give undue advantage to SAD workers, said Jakhar, adding that this was ironical since anyone associated with the ruling SAD could not be expected to check any irregular activity in the border areas.Jakhar pointed out that of the 12 teachers and one van driver killed in a road accident due to fog in Fazilka recently, family members of six only had been given government jobs so far, while in this instance the government has shown undue haste to appoint sons of political workers. He said that seeing the end of the Akali rule, Sukhbir was now going door to door to appease angry party workers and wooing them with plum postings.Referring to the atta-dal scheme of the Badal government, Jakhar challenged the advertisements in which the government claimed to have provide atta and dal to 41 lakh beneficiaries, and said the last time these people got the material was in April 2014. After first making false promises, the government was now rubbing salt into the wounds of the people by making such claims, he added.The government, he said, had even failed to provide scholarships worth Rs. 500 crores to Dalit students for the past three years despite promises on this count. In fact, several institutions have been forced to shut down due to the government’s failure to release the scholarship grant, he added.Jakhar demanded immediate imposition of the Code of Conduct by the Election Commission to prevent such violation of norms and also called for cancellation of the Intelligence Wing appointments.