Vini Mahajan Punjab’s first woman chief secretary

CHANDIGARH: Just weeks after his run-in with two Cabinet ministers, Punjab chief secretary Karan Avtar Singh was shunted out on Friday and replaced by 1987 batch IAS officer Vini Mahajan, making her the first woman to occupy the top position in the state. She is the wife of Punjab police chief Dinkar Gupta (1987 batch IPS officer) and it’s a rare instance of a couple occupying the senior-most bureaucratic posts in the state.
In what is being seen as an unexpected turn of events, Singh was replaced even though he is due to retire on August 31. The Congress legislators had been demanding his ouster after his tiff with Cabinet ministers Manpreet Singh Badal and Charanjit Singh Channi.
Vishwajit Khanna was strong contender for post
The ministers had announced that they had buried the hatchet after the senior bureaucrat had apologised to them at a meeting of the council of ministers on May 27. The former chief secretary had an argument with the two ministers at a pre-cabinet meeting on May 9 but it seemed that he had the support of chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh and would complete his tenure. He has been posted as the special chief secretary, governance reforms.
Mahajan took charge from Karan Avtar Singh on Friday. Her appointment blocks the chances of two senior IAS officers — 1987 batch officer Vishwajit Khanna and KBS Sidhu (1984 batch) — to rise to the top post. Khanna will retire in June 2021and Sidhu in July next year. Khanna, who was given the charge of financial commissioner, revenue on June 6, was a strong contender for the post.
Sidhu is the senior-most officer in Punjab and his name too was doing the rounds. Additional chief secretary for home Satish Chandra will superannuate on September 30 and wouldn’t have got much time, if elevated.In February last year, when Mahajan’s husband Dinkar Gupta was made the Punjab DGP, he too had superseded several senior IPS officers. Gupta was last month approved for empanelment by the appointments committee of the Union Cabinet for director-general level posts, making him eligible to head central intelligence agencies, paramilitary forces and investigation agencies.
Speculation has been rife about Mahajan being the frontrunner for the post given the confidence shown by CM Amarinder Singh in the officer-couple. Amarinder had backed Gupta for appointment as the state police chief after the retirement of Suresh Arora.