Chandigarh, February 10: The appointment of six members to the Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC) seems to have run into rough weather. Amid opposition from within the party and outside to the induction of certain members, including a retired IG Lok Nath Angra, into the PPSC, Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh is learnt to have put the process on hold.
After objections were raised by the Leader of Opposition, the Chief Minister decided to convene a meeting of the high-empowered committee.
The committee, comprising the Chief Minister, Vidhan Sabha Speaker and Leader of Opposition, selects members of the PPSC.
Leader of Opposition Sukhpal Khaira, in his communication to the Punjab Governor and Chief Secretary, has already red-flagged the appointments to the State Information Commission and the Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC).
As per rules, the names to be finalised have to be discussed among the three members. “Whether the Leader of Opposition agrees or returns the file with a dissent note, his accordance is not necessary for the appointments to go through,” said a senior government officer.
Congress MLAs, including Fatehjang Bajwa, Balwinder Singh Laddi and Santokh Singh, had recently met the Chief Minister, Vidhan Sabha Speaker Rana KP Singh, PPCC chief Sunil Jakhar and AICC secretary Harish Chaudhary against the induction of Angra into the PPSC. They had claimed that the former IG had close ties with the Akalis.
Others whose name had been shortlisted were Gurpartap Mann, son of Bhartiya Kisan Union (Mann) president Bhupinder Singh Mann; Jamit Kaur Teji, a PhD holder; and Amar Partap Singh Virk, a bureaucrat retiring in April this year. In the non-official member list, Supreet Ghuman, son of Surinder Kaur Ghuman, had been shortlisted.
News Source: http://www.tribuneindia.com
