| CHANDIGARH : A day after taking over the reins in Haryana, the BJP government led by chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar on Monday said it would review all announcements and decisions pertaining to appointments or recruitments made after May 16 by the previous Congress regime.
The cabinet also set in motion a process to stop all ongoing recruitments with immediate effect, indicating the controversial appointments to the Right to Service Commission and State Information Commission too were under scanner. "Those appointments found to be in public interest would stay," Khattar said. "In case of any discrepancy, a decision would be taken as per law."
Hooda had appointed his former additional principal secretary, the wife of his political adviser and the husband of a sitting high court judge as state information commissioners (SICs). He had appointed former chief secretary S C Chaudhary, former IAS officer Sarban Singh, Lt Gen Virender Singh Tonk and former additional advocate general Sunil Katyal to the Right to Service Commission. These appointments, made in July, were challenged in the HC.
Treading cautiously on the controversial land deals and change of land use (CLU) permissions involving AICC president Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Robert Vadra, Khattar said: "The government will not act out of vendetta. The law will take its own course on all complaints. The priority of the state government is to implement its agenda aimed at the welfare of the state's people."
The BJP government appeared in no mood to completely implement or reject the decisions to increase old-age pension and bring pay scales of Haryana government employees on a par with their counterparts in Punjab. Khattar made it clear a review did not imply these announcements were going to be set aside. "Whatever is found suitable would be implemented," he said. "The government will take care of the interest of its employees."
The government also directed officials to probe complaints related to problems faced by farmers in the sale of paddy in Haryana's grain markets. Farmers have alleged they get low rates due to manipulation by commission agents. |