Won't Attend Any Meet With Chief Secretary, Says Punjab Finance Minister

Punjab Chief Secretary Karan Avtar Singh was asked to stay away from the state cabinet meeting that was held today after a resolution was passed condemning him for alleged "misbehaviour" with state ministers.

Additional Chief Secretary (Home) Satish Chandra attended the cabinet meet in place of Mr Singh, who took a half-day leave.

Punjab Finance Minister Manpreet Singh Badal told reporters that he has made it clear that he would not be a part of any meeting conducted by the Chief Secretary or where he is in attendance.

"His behaviour was unbecoming of the office he holds. We have made it clear that we won't be attending any meeting conducted or held by the Chief Secretary. The Chief Minister was present in the meeting and he asked us to record our statements. I have recently lost my mother while my father is in ICU. I have seen death from close quarters, so I can assure you that this is not an ego clash," the state Finance Minister said.

Punjab cabinet ministers on Saturday walked out of a meeting with bureaucrats to decide a new excise policy. Manpreet Badal had an argument with the Chief Secretary over deciding the new excise policy, which liquor vendors in Punjab had been demanding so that tax will be on the basis of sales instead of the fixed quota system.

Punjab cabinet minister Charanjit Singh also walked out of the meeting, which was held before the full cabinet meeting to hammer out the new excise policy.

Meanwhile, in another flashpoint last week between ministers and bureaucrats in Punjab, Prisons Minister Sukhjinder Randhawa said the officers did not consult him before declaring jails as quarantine centres, said a senior officer who asked not to be named.

Punjab was the first state to demand that liquor shops should be opened amid the coronavirus lockdown to harvest some much needed revenue. But it is not bringing much revenue since only 10 per cent of liquor shops are open.

The contractors say they don't want to open their shops as they want to be taxed on the basis of sales and not on the fixed quota system.

"The government needs to change its excise policy. The daily license fee is around Rs 2 lakh and amid the lockdown, we don't have much sales," liquor contractor Inderjeet Singh said.

Some contractors say they are worried that home delivery of liquor as directed by the Supreme Court may encourage bootlegging.