Punjab, February 22:
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led government in Punjab faced criticism from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after it was revealed that one of its ministers had been overseeing a department that did not exist for nearly 20 months.
Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, who serves as Punjab’s NRI Affairs Minister, came under scrutiny following the recent deportation of illegal migrants from the United States to Amritsar, starting on February 5.
A gazette notification issued by the Punjab government clarified that the Department of Administrative Reforms, which had been allocated to Dhaliwal, was no longer in existence. As a result, he now holds only the NRI Affairs portfolio in the state Cabinet.
The notification stated: “In partial modification of Punjab Government Notification No. 2/1/2022-2Cabinet/2230 dated 23.09.2024, regarding allocation of portfolios amongst the Ministers, the Department of Administrative Reforms earlier allotted to Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, Cabinet Minister is not in existence as on date.”
Dhaliwal was initially assigned the Agriculture and Farmers Welfare Department, but he was relieved of this position during a Cabinet reshuffle in May 2023. Following this, he was allocated the NRI Affairs portfolio along with the Administrative Reforms department. He retained these responsibilities after another reshuffle in September 2024.
The BJP strongly criticized the government over the matter, with party spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari stating: “Imagine for 20 months the CM did not even know that a minister was running a NON EXISTENT DEPARTMENT.”
Amit Malviya, BJP IT Department In-charge, further condemned the government, saying: “You can imagine the crisis in Punjab government if it took nearly 20 months to realise that a department assigned to one of its prominent ministers never actually existed. Arvind Kejriwal is a charlatan who must be banished from public life.”
Shiromani Akali Dal leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal also criticized AAP, commenting: “All this is happening because ministers have no role in governance as the govt is being run in remote control from Delhi.”
According to a source, Dhaliwal was informed that administrative reforms were part of the governance reforms department. The department’s role was to integrate governance with information technology, and the recent notification has now clarified the confusion.
The revelation that Dhaliwal had been leading a department that did not formally exist raised concerns about the functioning of the Punjab government under AAP. It remains uncertain whether he will be assigned a new portfolio in the future.
A source told The Indian Express that after being allocated the Administrative Reforms department, Dhaliwal sought clarification from the government as his department lacked a designated secretary.
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