With an eye on the upcoming Punjab Assembly polls, the ruling SAD-BJP government has announced sops to woo voters in the state. The government has created over 3,300 posts, besides regularising 27,000 employees hired on contract and allotting important posts to party members. It is learnt that around 150 party activists were appointed in the last week as chairman or members in different welfare boards. Sources said that the aim is to come back to power for the third time in the state and the government is in a hurry to announce maximum poll sops before the election model code of conduct comes into force.
The government on Friday decided to hold a special Vidhan Sabha session on Monday to push a legislation for regularising employees. The government failed to get the Governor’s nod to its controversial ordinance to regularise 30,000 employees hired allegedly via the “back door”. The Cabinet went into a huddle after parleys between Governor V.P. Singh Badnore and the government failed to break the logjam. “The Punjab Cabinet has convened a one-day session of the state Assembly on 19 December at 2 pm to transact important legislative business,” a government spokesperson said.
Sources said that the Parkash Singh Badal government had pumped in about Rs 50 crore to reach voters in select districts. “Sangat darshans” are being held frequently and on-the-spot development grants are being sanctioned, ranging between Rs 20-25 crore to the “host” Assembly segment.
On Tuesday, the CM distributed Rs 2.61 crore compensation to farmers in Kalanaur, the place of Emperor Akbar’s coronation in Gurdaspur. In the past one month, Deputy Chief Minister Sukhbir Singh Badal had inaugurated or laid the foundation stones of over 30 mega or minor projects, beginning with the classy heritage street around the Golden Temple in Amritsar.
A Cabinet meeting chaired by the Chief Minister gave nod to recruit 50 sub-inspectors (SIs) and 1,379 constables and decided to take these posts out of the purview of the Punjab Subordinate Services Selection Board. These SIs and constables will be recruited in Amritsar and Ludhiana police commissionerates and SAS Nagar (Mohali) district.
Besides, the Punjab government on Thursday slashed value-added tax (VAT) by 9% on all goods, barring automobiles, purchased from police canteens.
The next of kin of Home Guard volunteers who have died on duty during the past 10 years will get government jobs on compassionate grounds. This decision will be applicable on dependents of volunteers who died after 1 January 2007. Free LPG connections will be given to below poverty line beneficiaries (priority household and Antodaya), who were left out of the Socio Economic Caste Census (SECC) 2011, on the lines of the Pradhan Mantri Ujwala Yojana.
RIVAL PARTIES AT IT
Punjab Congress chief Captain Amarinder Singh has promised free smartphones with Wi-Fi connections for 50 lakh Punjab youth, while the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party has announced jobs for 25 lakh youth of the state.
As if on cue, the Congress promised one job per family and jobless allowance if voted to power. Where these parties plan to get funds for implementing their tall promises is anybody’s guess. Neither party has offered an action plan to generate jobs.