‘His Excellency’ seeks list of govt’s feats in his 1yr tenure

UNUSUAL In a letter, Badnore wants to know ‘major achievements’ of state govt since he became governor, ‘will be highlighted’ in a meeting with Prime Minister

CHANDIGARH An unusual letter from governor VP Singh Badnore wherein ‘His Excellency’ has asked the Punjab government to list its achievements under his one-year tenure has sent state officials in a tizzy.

A letter has been sent by the governor’s secretary to the secretary, information and public relations department, Punjab, asking him “to list out major achievements” of the government “to be highlighted in the meeting of Prime Minister Narendra Modi”.

The letter, dated July 20, a copy of which is available with Hindustan Times, has also sought details of “major initiatives or projects completed or under progress” during this period for the “purpose of a coffee table book”. Badnore completes one year in the governor’s office on August 22.

Before his appointment as the state governor, Badnore had a long innings as a BJP politician in Rajasthan. He was elected to the Rajasthan assembly four times and to the Lok Sabha twice in 1999 and 2004. In July 2010, he was elected to the Rajya Sabha.

HEADACHE FOR OFFICIALS

Meanwhile, responding to the letter of ‘His Excellency’ has become a headache for officials of various departments in the state who are wondering if they have to link the achievements with the governor’s tenure.

Even the state government seems to have found this letter unusual. Hindustan Times witnessed a cabinet minister talking to his principal secretary and taking exception to the letter. The minister was also heard telling the official that a clarification should be sought from the secretary to the governor in this regard.

The minister, sources said, even called up Suresh Kumar, the chief principal secretary to the chief minister, on Thursday seeking clarification as to whether the CMO (chief minister’s office) was kept in the loop while seeking such information.

Since Kumar was not in his office on Thursday, the matter remained unconclusive.

‘UNPRECEDENTED’

“It’s an unusual and unprecedented letter as the role of any governor in the day-to-day functioning of the government or initiating developmental projects is almost nil. He is only the constitutional head of the state. Yes, in the union territory of Chandigarh, as a direct administrator, he would have many achievements to list. The language of the letter is also quite confusing,” a senior IAS officer told Hindustan Times, on the condition of anonymity.

The information and public relations department, which has forwarded the letter to various departments, has not get any response from any of them so far, sources said,

“We are flooded with questions over the letter,” an official in the department said.

When contacted, secretary to governor JM Balamurugan said the letter may have been misinterpreted as it only seeks achievements of the government under the governor’s one-year tenure.

When his attention was withdrawn to the confusion in various departments as to how development carried out by the government can be counted as the achievement of the governor, he said the only purpose behind this letter is that ‘His Excellency’ needs a list of achievements for his personal record.