Punjab's anti-graft body was set up by previous Congress government
Punjab Governor Banwarilal Purohit Tuesday gave his assent to a Bill aimed to dissolve the state vigilance commission, said official sources.
The Punjab Vigilance Commission (Repeal) Bill, 2022, had been pending with the governor since it was passed in September 2022.
The state anti-graft body was set up under the Punjab State Vigilance Commission Act, 2020 by the previous Congress government to curb corruption among the state's public servants.
When the Punjab Vigilance Commission (Repeal) Bill, 2022 was introduced, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann had said that the vigilance commission was not serving any useful objective except being a burden on the exchequer as there were multiple agencies to deal with the same issues.
To avoid overlapping, contradictory findings, resultant delays and gaps in communication, it has become necessary to repeal the Punjab State Vigilance Commission Act, 2020, Mann had then said.
The governor gave assent to the vigilance commission Bill days after he reserved three Bills, including the one meant to replace him with the chief minister as the chancellor of state-run universities, for consideration of the President.
The three Bills were the Sikh Gurdwaras (Amendment) Bill, 2023, the Punjab Universities Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2023 and the Punjab Police (Amendment) Bill, 2023.
While the Sikh Gurdwaras (Amendment) Bill, 2023 was aimed at ensuring a free-to-air telecast of 'Gurbani' from the Golden Temple in Amritsar, the Punjab Universities Laws (Amendment) Bill, 2023 was for replacing the governor with the chief minister as the chancellor of state-run universities.
The Punjab Police (Amendment) Bill, 2023 was to pave the way to bring about an independent mechanism for selection and appointment of suitable persons to the post of director general of police (DGP).
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