HAVE YOU noticed that there has not been any controversy in Punjab about any particular minister being given a portfolio completely different from his known area of expertise?

Whether we agree with his approach or not, but Manpreet Singh Badal has some claim over a certain understanding of finance, revenue, expenditure, monetary, fiscal concerns; him getting the Finance/Taxation/Governance Reforms makes sense.

But why is it that there were no debates in the media about what particular department a Sukh Sarkaria would get, or a Rana Gurjit will land, or a Bharat Bhushan Ashu will bag?

Because not one of them has any known area of expertise. Not a single soul in Punjab had guessed that Rana Gurjit has a special affinity towards Horticulture or Technical Education!

Were you aware that we had among us a Gurkirat Singh Kotli (Ketia?) with a passion for Information Technology or Science or a Bharat Bhushan Ashu dying to bring revolutionary changes in Consumer Affairs?

Were you aware that we had among us a Gurkirat Singh Kotli (Ketia?) with a passion for Information Technology or Science or a Bharat Bhushan Ashu dying to bring revolutionary changes in Consumer Affairs?

In a state where labour wages are a huge political issue, where agricultural labourers often receive far below minimum wages, where politicians seem to be divorced from how MGNREGA could be used, where a significant number of migrants comprise the labour force, where the dispute-redressal mechanism to address labour-related issues in the industry is all but missing, why were we unaware of the special skills of Sangat Singh Gilzian to grapple with these intricate matters? Was he writing about these issues in some abstruse off-shore American or European research journals that his exertions on the matter escaped us all together?

The fact is that had it been a government of a different party, we would have had the same problem. There is an argument to be made that you do not necessarily need domain expertise to run policy formulation or a particular ministry. But the fact is that if you have expertise in a certain domain, and still you are put in charge of a completely different ministry, you bring in a lot of new perspectives, and you learn the ropes quickly. By the very nature of their jobs and vocation, we expect our politicians to be at least interested in policy formulation and public service, but they are so adept at hiding these talents that we only come to know when the list of portfolios is out.

I have heard a rumour that Gurpreet Singh Kangar now plans to write a much-referenced paper in the Economic & Political Weekly about what must be done to transform the power sector in Punjab and the gaps between complaint lodging and final redressal in case of a power outage. How true do you think that rumour could be?

We recently saw the lamentation by Balbir Singh Sidhu who was asking his High Command, via the ‘Breaking News’ forums, about the reason why he was removed. Why are we not asking the right question — Why was he made the Health Minister? Why was Sadhu Singh Dharamsot made a minister? 

I have heard a rumour that Gurpreet Singh Kangar now plans to write a much-referenced paper in the Economic & Political Weekly about what must be done to transform the power sector in Punjab and the gaps between complaint lodging and final redressal in case of a power outage. How true do you think that rumour could be?

Few people will have a problem with Brahm Mohindra getting the Local Government department or Pargat Singh getting the Sports portfolio because these are the people who have either put in the years or have been insiders and know what they will be dealing with. But a lot of them are newbies now on a mission to set everything right in about 90 days or so. What else do you need to have a perfect mess?

The social media is agog with a young turk of Congress talking about getting a department ’jis naal swaad aa jaave’ and his success in actually landing that department. Consider yourself thrown under a bus.

The ministry-formation exercise in Punjab under any government is no more a case of deploying the right talent. It is now a naked public exercise in distributing the spoils of power. The social media is agog with a young turk of Congress talking about getting a department ’jis naal swaad aa jaave’ and his success in actually landing that department. Consider yourself thrown under a bus.

It is one reason the politicians find themselves becoming the target of ire of common people. But will the pedestrian war cry of ’Mera Neta Chor Hai’; transform itself into getting the right talent into politics? The argument about stuffing the Assembly or the Cabinet with technocrats or domain experts is as foolish as having one without any kind of domain knowledge.

Eventually, people get the government they deserve. We must show that we deserve better. Otherwise, our politics is ready to find 16 Sadhu Singh Dharamsots.

Eventually, people get the government they deserve. We must show that we deserve better. Otherwise, our politics is ready to find 16 Sadhu Singh Dharamsots.

How many in the Cabinet will make you move your, let me use my domain knowledge here, fat ass? Check the list and find out how many have you got.