A major political controversy has erupted in Punjab over the DGP, Gaurav Yadav, and the state’s Chief Secretary (CS), KAP Sinha, addressing the state government’s “anti-drug” gathering at Killi Chahlan village in Moga district on Monday.
The government and the Opposition are now fighting over the ‘true character’ of the gathering, with the state’s Bhagwant Mann government claiming that the gathering was an official “state event” under the Yuddh Nasheyan Viruddh campaign and the Opposition alleging that the gathering was purely an “AAP political rally,” where the DGP and Chief Secretary (CS) also shared the stage with politicians. The Opposition is alleging that the AAP govt is politicizing bureaucracy.
While addressing the gathering, the DGP said that it is Punjab that is fighting the country’s war against drugs, being a border state with the Punjab Police making an unprecedented recovery of over 2000 kg of heroin in just one year. He also claimed that Punjab’s conviction rate in NDPS cases is 90 percent, among the highest in the country.
CS Sinha, in his address, said that Punjab has started a war against drugs and lauded the state govt for its political will, adding that political will is the most important thing for any state to take strict action, and today, with all our leadership on stage, it shows that it is 100 percent.
What added spice to the Opposition’s claim was CM Bhagwant Mann’s post on X before leaving for Moga, saying that the event was a “massive AAP rally.”
It prompted BJP state president Sunil Jakhar to post on X: “Watching the Chief Secretary and DGP at AAP’s rally today, one wonders if India’s ‘steel frame’ bureaucrats are now bending to political whims. Isn’t this a flagrant breach of All India Service Rules? He went on to allege that the AAP govt is politicising the bureaucracy.
Punjab BJP general secretary Anil Sarin also questioned the presence of AAP’s national convenor, Arvind Kejriwal, at the event if it was “Punjab government’s official event.” He asked what Kejriwal was doing in the government’s official events.
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) has even urged Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria as well as the Election Commission of India (ECI) to take note of the manner in which government funds were used to hold AAP’s rally.
The SAD leadership made a pointed attack, claiming that the manner in which the DGP and Chief Secretary were forced to address a political rally is highly condemnable, adding further that the state bureaucracy was being politicised which is not good for democracy.
Congress leaders too joined the fray, calling it a “dangerous new low for Punjab.” Senior Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa philosophized it, saying when the lines between government and political party begin to blur, probity in public life is the first casualty. He said that civil servants are expected to function impartially and uphold constitutional values. Their visible association with a political event undermines public trust.
Gurdaspur Congress MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa went a step further and dashed off a letter to the Union Minister of State for Personnel and Training, Jitendra Singh, on Tuesday, raising serious objections over Chief Secretary and DGP sharing the dias at Moga with Arvind Kejriwal and other ruling party leaders.
Randhawa raised the question of institutional credibility along with constitutional and legal issues. He called on the DoPT to obtain a detailed report and review any potential breach of the All India Services Conduct Rules. According to him, a serving DGP and Chief Secretary sharing the stage with political masters is a grave violation of All India Service Conduct Rules and constitutional propriety.
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