No link between Bhattal’s likely appointment to planning board with official accommodation: Govt

| | Chandigarh | in Chandigarh

Punjab Government on Sunday denied reports about the likely appointment of former Chief Minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal as the vice-chairperson of Punjab State Planning Board being linked to the retention of her Government accommodation in Chandigarh’s high-security Sector-2.

An official spokesperson clarified that the suggestion that Bhattal’s likely appointment was to facilitate her in retaining the said accommodation was “unfounded”.

“If Bhattal is appointed to the coveted post, which was previously held by eminent industrialist Rajinder Gupta and former Punjab BJP chief Prof Rajinder Bhandari, it would be on account of her vast experience and expertise in state administration as former Chief Minister,” said the spokesperson.

With Bhandari’s resignation, one of the two posts of Punjab Planning Board vice-chairperson had fallen vacant, and the same had to be filled, following proper procedure, said the spokesperson.

Any move to link Bhattal’s possible appointment with enabling her to retain the government accommodation was a “complete figment of imagination”, the spokesperson said while rejecting outright reports to this effect appearing in a section of the media.

A section of media has reported that Bhattal is likely to be appointed on the coveted post which would enable the state government to allow her to retain the government house allotted to her, just behind Punjab Chief Minister’s residence.

Supreme Court had set a deadline for all the State Governments to get the houses allotted to former Chief Ministers evicted by May 31.

The house was allotted to Bhattal in 2012 by the then Punjab Chief Minister, Parkash Singh Badal, from the Chief Minister’s pool on security ground after the Punjab and Haryana High Court had ordered her to vacate another house in Sector-2 (House No 46).

House No 46 in Sector 2 was meant for the Leader of Opposition in the Punjab Vidhan Sabha and Bhattal had been living there even after she was no longer the Leader of Opposition. Bhattal is not even an MLA now as she had lost the 2017 Vidhan Sabha election from Lehragaga.