100 DAYS OF CAPT GOVT
Mining auction row sullies clean administration vow; debt waiver, governance reforms, other major initiatives get drowned in din
Back in power after 10 years, the Captain Amarinder Singh-led Congress government took 120-odd decisions in its first meeting to announce governance reforms. After 100 days, it has been found wanting in walking the talk on some of its decisions.
WHILE GOVT MANAGED TO WEATHER THE ‘SANDSTORM’ IN THE ASSEMBLY, SOME OF ITS MEMBERS WERE NEEDLESSLY COMBATIVE
Back in power after 10 years, the Captain Amarinder Singh-led Congress government began with a bang, taking 120-odd decisions in its first meeting to announce governance reforms and implement populist promises from the poll manifesto.
The ministers spent the next few weeks ordering one inquiry after the other – the most recent being the ones announced in the just-concluded assembly session into land encroachment, fund embezzlement and diversion of central funds. There was also talk of giving clean governance, going after sand, liquor and transport mafia and tackling conflict of interest.
A lot of sound and fury, but the Congress government has been found wanting in walking the talk on some of its decisions in the first 100 days. To top it all, it has landed in a trough due to an embarrassing sand mining auction row, involving ex-employees of power minister Rana Gurjit Singh. SLUGGISH RESPONSE, OPPN GRABS CHANCE When the controversy broke, the government took time to respond. The first reaction was to dismiss the charges despite unease among its ranks, letting the opposition, in particular Congressman-turned-Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Sukhpal Khaira, grab the opportunity and hit out at the government, as more damaging information came out.
By the time the government acted, setting up an inquiry commission headed by a retired high court judge and cancelled the auction of remaining sand mines, things had gone out of hand. The fiasco not only fired up the AAP and the SAD-BJP, but also deflected attention from its promising start with ban on red beacons on VIP vehicles, curbs on ministers’ foreign visits, assets disclosure by state employees and reservation for women in government jobs. Soon, no one was talking about them. MISSED OPPORTUNITY TO HIGHLIGHT MOVES Amarinder, in his speech in the assembly last Monday, announced a ₹9,500-crore farm debt waiver to benefit more than 10 lakh small and marginal farmers and free smart phones to 50 lakh youth. Despite being constrained by a fiscal mess inherited from the previous government, finance minister Manpreet Badal whose main worry in the coming months will be to scrounge up cash to keep the state treasury running, also made financial provision.
Before the government could beat drum rolls, the announcements were lost in the assembly din, amplified protests over tossing of turbans and injuries to members. Despite a near twothirds majority in the 117-strong House, it carried on the proceedings without the opposition for two days. The AAP and SAD-BJP members remained in protest mode, grabbing the headlines.
While the government managed to ensure the sandstorm does not blow in the assembly, some of its members, especially tourism minister Navjot Singh Sidhu, were needlessly combative, entering into arguments. “There was no need to conduct legislative business without the opposition. After all, this was just the first major session. When the opposition parties joined forces, its strategists were caught off guard and showed no political management skills,” said a political observer, requesting anonymity.
But these are still early days. The 100-day marker, though too short a period to pass any judgement on the state government, is a pointer to the direction in which it is headed. Amarinder has declared that this is his last political term and would want to go out with the flag flying high. Given the situation in Punjab that was once ranked among the frontline states of the country, it’s a huge task. And Capt has his work cut out for him.