Under fire from the Opposition over giving jobs to the sons of two Congress MLAs, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Saturday defended his government’s decision, saying it was in recognition of the sacrifices made by their grandfathers, who laid down their lives for the country.
The State Cabinet had on Friday decided to appoint Arjun Pratap Singh Bajwa as an inspector in the Punjab Police and Bhisham Pandey as a naib tehsildar in the Revenue Department as a “special case” on “compassionate” grounds.
Mr. Bajwa is the son of Qadian MLA Fateh Jung Singh Bajwa and Mr. Pandey is the son of Ludhiana legislator Rakesh Pandey. Mr. Bajwa is the grandson of former Minister Satnam Singh Bajwa who laid down his life in 1987 while Mr. Pandey is the grandson of Joginder Pal Pandey who was gunned down by the terrorists in 1987, the government had said. Capt. Amarinder said those who make a sacrifice for the nation can, and should, never be forgotten.
Meanwhile, the SAD urged the Governor to dismiss the government by taking suo motu notice of the manner in which the CM was allegedly “purchasing” the loyalty of the Congress legislators.
