Mystery ‘notification’ leaves Punjab govt red-faced before it’s pulled out

RED BEACON ORDER

THE PUNJAB government was on Tuesday caught off guard by its purported order notifying that all cabinet ministers, including the Chief Minister, and other emergency vehicles could use the red beacon light on their vehicles, contrary to the earlier Cabinet decision that it would be restricted to some top dignitaries.

The notification, a U-turn from the much-praised March 18 Cabinet decision, was later withdrawn in a flurry of contradictory explanations. A spokesperson said CM Captain Amarinder Singh had asked the Chief Secretary to have the correct notification sent to him for approval.

The order, issued by the Transport Department, and sent for implementation to the State Transport Commissioner and ADGP (traffic), said all Cabinet ministers, including the CM, were allowed the use of red beacons on their official vehicles along with emergency, hospitals, ambulance, fire brigade.

The order took even government insiders by surprise as the decision in the first Cabinet meeting was to restrict it to the HC judges, the Governor, ambulances and other emergency vehicles, making no exception for the CM and ministers.

When contacted, CM'S media adviser Raveen Thukral expressed puzzlement. “It is a wrong order. There is a mistake,” he said. Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal, an outspoken votary for banning red beacons, said: “It was a typo.”

A statement from the government quoted the CM as saying that there was “no change” or “softening” in his government’s decision to do away with the red beacons.

The statement explained the notification as “an extract from the Congress poll manifesto, exempting the chief minister and his council of ministers” which “started doing the rounds of the social media as a Transport Department notification on the use of red beacons on Tuesday”.

There has been no order as yet on the issue of red beacons, the statement clarified, and said one would be issued “soon” following the CM’S directives.

Principal Secretary (Transport) Saravjit Singh told The Indian Express: “All I can say at this juncture is that there was no mistake.”

He said the government had withdrawn the order. “A fresh order will be issued.”