After the lok Sabha polls and average results, Punjab Government is now on an image building exercise. In the first month after Parliamentary polls, the State Government seems to be following the “Modi pattern” of fast action to show result.
Whereas the BJP-led NDA at the Centre is facing criticism for its decisions on hiking fuel prices, increasing rail fare, among others, the SAD-BJP alliance Government in the State has, apparently, “pulled up its socks”. From ordering mass transfers in civil and police administrative machinery, to carrying out surprise checks on babus, tightening noose around drug peddlers besides detoxifying the addicts, among other things, the State Government has initiated several “corrective” steps.
With the formation of “favourable” NDA Government at the Centre, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal is also “proactively” taking up issues, concerning States, with the Union Ministers almost every week. Soon after the polls, both the alliance partners - the SAD and the BJP — put their heads together and held brainstorming sessions in their respective parties to analyze the poll results. The SAD-BJP alliance managed to bag just six seats out of total 13 in the State despite being the ruling Government and Modi wave blowing across the nation.
What alerted the SAD was its dwindling vote share which has come down to 34.73 per cent in 2012 Assembly polls, to 26.3 per cent in 2014 lok Sabha polls, in just two years of returning to power. On the other hand, BJP’s vote share has increased from 7.18 per cent in 2012 to 8.7 in 2014 polls.
The assessment of SAD-BJP’s poll performance revealed that issues like mounting drug menace, alleged involvement of Akali leaders, tax burden on people mainly property tax, shortage and high prices of sand and gravel, role of halqa in-charges, deteriorating law and order situation, VAT refunds, among other things, led to the alliance’s poor show.
Getting into damage-control mode, the two alliance partners decided to reconsider several of its decisions, besides conducting a revamping exercise of the party. The analysis also found out that there was a lot of resentment among the people against the ruling combine, besides the non-implementation, in letter and spirit, of the State government’s people-friendly decisions.
Combating drugs
As the drugs issue turned out to be a major one during this general election, Punjab Government wasted no time to wage a war against it. The entire administrative machinery has been set in motion.
The Chief Minister proposed twin strategy — stopping supply line and treating addicts — to tackle the growing drug menace, his deputy son Sukhbir Badal came out with a “comprehensive” plan to eradicate drug menace by involving police and civil machinery, people, doctors, social scientists, among others.
Punjab State Narcotics Control Bureau was set up, besides Narcotics Prevention and Control Board to oversee its function. In addition, state-level Drug Advisory Committee was also formed. Moreover, Punjab State Board for Drug De-addiction and Rehabilitation, coupled with Drug De-Addiction and Rehabilitation Societies in each district, was also constituted.
This is not all! A special helpline, along with SMS facility, fax number, e-mail address, and a Facebook page, was also launched for the purpose, asking the general public to participate in state’s war against drugs.
The police has also made series of recoveries and arrests busting supply chains of heroin, smack and other narcotic drugs, raiding illegal chemist shops alongside drug inspectors to check the sale of the intoxicants.
The State Government has also started a massive drive to rehabilitate drug addicts by administering free medicines to them in drug de-addiction centres across the State. The Government is in the process of setting up a rehabilitation centre for drug de-addiction in each district, besides constituting five model Drug De-addiction Centres (DDCs).
The Government’s decisions came after State Cabinet Minister Bikram Singh Majithia was charged for his alleged involvement in drug mafia. Another Cabinet Minister Swaran Singh Phillaur stepped down after name of his son surfaced in the multi-crore drug scam. The situation became worse after the BJP also pointed its finger at SAD for patronising drug mafia and peddlers.
Reconsidering decisions
Sensing the anti-Government approach adopted by the State’s electorate against the ruling combine, SAD-BJP alliance has decided to have a re-look at its decisions that led to party’s loss in 7 out of the 13 seats. After activating on the drugs issue’s front, the state government has decided to reconsider its decisions on property tax, tax system, sand and gravel issue, etc. The two alliance partners have, in fact, decided to set up a six-member panel to review, and recommend ways for course correction.
As per the BJP’s poll review committee, headed by party stalwart Balramji Dass Tandon, pointed out property tax, problems faced by the traders and industrialists, special favours to farmers and rural people, high prices of sand and gravel, Akali halqa in-charge system, overdependence on bureaucracy, lack of contact with public, lack of focus on basic amenities, too many changes in the tax system, among other as the main reasons for the party’s below average performance.
Civil and police machinery
Post-election, the State Government has re-shuffled the entire police and civil machinery. In a knee-jerk reaction to the loss of seven parliamentary seats, orders of transfers and posting were issued at short intervals.
Almost a week after poll results, a total of 72 officers — including 37 IAS and 28 IPS —were transferred in a single day. It included 12 Deputy Commissioners (DCs) and 14 Senior Superintendents of Police (SSPs), besides two Police Commissioners.
After receiving feedback that people were not happy with the Government’s working, and were mostly at the receiving end, senior Badal has taken the charge and is regularly supervising and keeping an eye on the functioning not only of the babus, but also his Cabinet colleagues.
Badal has issued strict instructions to the officials to remain present in their offices every day during official hours, and barred them to function from their camp offices at their residence. To ensure the same, he has carried out surprise checks twice, at Civil Secretariat and Mini Secretariat, finding eight Cabinet ministers, and a senior IAS officer, and 14 senior officers absent from their office respectively.
Party reorganisation
SAD president Sukhbir too has decided to lend an ear to the people, besides restructuring the party organisation. Sukhbir has now decided to meet general public on every Wednesday at party’s head office in Chandigarh, besides asking the Cabinet Ministers to hold monthly meetings in districts.
After severe criticism of party’s system of halqa in-charges, the party is considering to do away with the same. BJP has also pinpointed at the interference of halqa in-charges in administrative functioning besides their “illegal activities, including land grab, patronising criminals and drug traders” that led to party’s poor performance.