Randhawa peeved at media
Jails and cooperation minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa seems piqued with the media these days. The minister has been making headlines for the past three weeks for first offering to quit the cabinet and then having meetings with former minister Navjot Singh Sidhu and some party leaders critical of the state government on the legal setback in sacrilege and police firing cases but kept avoiding journalists. When some television reporters confronted the minister in Chandigarh the other day and asked about the impact of these developments on the Congress, he vented his spleen, telling them not to create unnecessary hype. “Don’t you have any other work? Do some constructive work. Don’t create hype...when these channels were not there, Punjab and India were on the path of progress,” he said, advising them to visit some hospitals and report on the condition and needs of Covid-19 patients. Shooting the messenger, Mr Minister? every evening, his consistent push for augmenting the medical infrastructure, including increasing availability of oxygen beds. The CM’S direct interaction with deputy commissioners on emerging issues of concern like the onset of black fungus infection in Covid patients has kept the officials on their toes.
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