Punjab babus on ‘mass leave’ over arrest

The crisis started after the arrest of PCS officer Narinder Singh Dhaliwal, who was posted as the Regional Transport Officer in Ludhiana. The PCS lobby has, however, dubbed the arrest as 'illegal' and gone on a mass leave from Monday.

New Delhi, Jan 11: The Constitution of India and the constitution of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as well as its leaders do not bond well. While AAP supremo and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal keeps violating the country's Constitution, the first-time elected AAP government in Punjab has pushed the State into a huge constitutional crisis. The alleged mishandling of the public servants by the Bhagwant Mann government has created a constitutional anarchy in that State.

According to reports, Punjab Civil Service (PCS) officers have decided to go on mass leave against the 'illegal' arrest of a colleague. They have now been joined by the Revenue officers who have shown their unhappiness over the functionality of the State government under Chief Minister Mann. There is a chaotic atmosphere since the PCS officers are said to be on mass leave from Monday.

Civil servants unhappy over illegal arrest

The crisis in Punjab started after one arrest which according to the PCS officers is illegal. They claim that one of their officers Narinder Singh Dhaliwal, who was posted as regional transport authority in Ludhiana, has been arrested illegally. The vigilance bureau, according to them, arrested the officer alleging that he took bribes from transporters for sparing them challans for offending vehicles.

Not only in Punjab, the AAP government in Delhi too has a history of mishandling its officers only to showcase that they are 'honest', especially when several of the Kejriwal's Cabinet ministers are in jail on concrete charges of corruption. Similar practices are being used by Punjab CM Mann to harass the civil servants to brand himself as an 'honest CM'.

PCS lobby not to buckle down

Although the State government has tried to pressurise the PCS officers, they are not buckling down under pressure. Earlier, they met to discuss Dhaliwal's arrest and decided to go on the civil disobedience to protest against the "illegal" arrest of a colleague in Ludhiana. The PCS Officers' Association president Rajat Oberoi said that more than 235 PCS officers are supporting the cause.

The association also claims that they would decide only after their demands are met which according to them depends mostly upon the incumbent government of AAP. The Mann government, however, is claiming that the action was legal and took place only after it received complaints on the CM anti-corruption helpline. The Anti-Corruption Bureau stands on its allegation that the arrested officer Dhaliwal was indulging in collecting bribes to help the transporters escape challans.