National
Wait gets longer for Punjab’s ‘ministers-in-waiting’
By Jaideep Sarin
Chandigarh, Sep 24 (IANS) Returning to power after a decade-long political hiatus, the wait for many senior Congress legislators to get a real shot at power through ministerial berths has become longer.
With the Gurdaspur Lok Sabha seat by-election scheduled for next month followed by the festive season, Congress insiders say that the Amarinder Singh government’s cabinet expansion could be delayed for another couple of months.
Amarinder, who led the Congress to an emphatic win in the assembly polls in March — winning 77 seats in the 117-member assembly — had inducted nine ministers when he assumed office on March 16. Most of these ministers were his loyalists. The cabinet has two women ministers — Razia Sultana and Aruna Chaudhary.
With a ceiling of 18 ministers, the cabinet can accommodate eight more ministers.
Party insiders say that the Chief Minister may opt for inducting five or six ministers in the next expansion and leave two-three slots vacant for some more time.
The outcome of the by-election for the Gurdaspur parliamentary seat, which the Congress will try to wrest from the BJP, could also influence the selection of would-be ministers. The Lok Sabha seat fell vacant in April following the demise of four-time MP and veteran actor Vinod Khanna.
“It was being said earlier that the cabinet expansion would be held before the budget session in June. But it was delayed. Now, it has been delayed owing to the Gurdaspur bypoll. Our wait is getting longer,” a senior legislator, who is a strong contender to be a minister, told IANS here.
Congress sources say that there are 18-20 “strong contenders” for the eight remaining ministerial berths. The Chief Minister will have the final say in selecting his ministers, unlike the earlier practice of the Congress High Command in New Delhi — read party President Sonia Gandhi — dictating the choice.
Senior leaders among the contenders include legislators Om Prakash Soni, Raj Kumar Verka, Gurmeet Singh (Rana) Sodhi, Rakesh Pandey, Randeep Nabha and Balbir Singh Sidhu.
Cabinet minister, cricketer-turned-politician, Navjot Singh Sidhu, is pitching for former Olympian and ex-India hockey captain Pargat Singh. Sidhu and Pargat had joined the Congress just ahead of the assembly polls in February. Both are not considered part of the Amarinder camp.
Among the relatively younger Congress legislators, the names doing the rounds are of Amrinder Singh Raja Warring (Indian Youth Congress president), Vijay Inder Singla (former IYC president) and Kuljit Nagra. All three have the backing of the Congress High Command, though Singla is also considered an Amarinder loyalist.
Other contenders include Fatehjung Bajwa, Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, Parminder Pinki, Bharat Bhushan Ashu, Surjit Dhiman, Sukhbinder Singh Sukh Sarkaria.
“Our party has a problem of plenty now. With 77 legislators, of course, not everyone can be given a ministerial berth,” said another Congress legislator, who told IANS that he is not in the fray to be a minister.
As usual, the caste, religious, regional and seniority parameters will dominate the final selection of ministers.
With uncertainty over the appointment of Chief Parliamentary Secretaries (CPS) due to a recent ruling of the Punjab and Haryana High Court, the Chief Minister will have to devise other ways to accommodate some legislators in the government set-up.
(Jaideep Sarin can be contacted at [email protected])
–IANS
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Lucknow: Vishal Singh, a renowned social worker from Lucknow, also known as Foodman, has once again made India proud. He was honored by the Happy Hands Gloves Cooperative Limited Company in Korathai, Thailand, for his work with the Hunger Free World Mission.
The Hunger Free World Mission’s meeting was held in Korathai, Thailand, under Vishal Singh’s leadership. Representatives from several countries, including Mr. Raja Dwivedi (Managing Director of Happy Hands Gloves Limited), Thailand Coordinator Mr. Raja Mishra, and member Mr. Varun Singh, attended the event.
Under Vishal Singh’s leadership, the attendees took a pledge to work together toward creating a hunger-free world.
Speaking on the occasion, Vishal Singh explained that the main goal of the Hunger Free World Mission is social participation. He said the mission is not just about feeding people but also about meeting other basic needs of those who are struggling. The mission focuses on helping families of terminally ill patients in hospitals by providing food and shelter. It also works to fulfill essential needs like education, jobs, and care for the elderly.
For the last 16 years, the Vijay Sri Foundation has been providing free services, benefiting thousands of people. Vishal Singh highlighted that the mission aims to gain global recognition like other organizations such as WHO, WWF, and Red Cross, which work for social causes.
During this meeting, Vishal Singh was appointed as the Chairman of the Hunger Free World Mission by representatives from various countries. They also discussed holding regular meetings in different countries to push the mission forward.
Business tycoon Dr. Abhishek Verma has also supported this humanitarian mission, vowing to promote the idea of “Seva Parmo Dharma” (Service is the highest duty) worldwide. Vishal Singh praised him, stating that people like Dr .Abhishek Verma inspire others to work for the betterment of society.
Recently, Romania’s Ambassador, Mr . Daniela Sezonov Ţane, invited Vishal Singh to the Romanian Embassy in Delhi, where they discussed the mission in detail. Impressed by his humanitarian work, she honored Vishal Singh and invited him to Romania to take the mission forward .
Food man Vishal Singh has been serving the people of India for the past 16 years. Through the Vijay Sri Foundation, he provides free meals to cancer patients & their families ,shelter, and education for women & children along with running free old-age homes in Lucknow.
In addition to his humanitarian work, Vishal Singh also addresses issues like crime and corruption through his role as Chairman of Seva Path Media and Managing Director of Vijay Sri Foundation.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Vishal Singh and his team worked tirelessly to provide food and help to the needy, including starving children, elderly citizens, and pregnant women. Despite contracting the virus himself, he continued to assist others after his recovery. He even created a life-saving oxygen regulator using household items, which was praised by doctors both in India and abroad.
In his address at the meeting, Vishal Singh spoke about his mission to create a hunger-free world. He pointed out that India’s large population, along with issues like unemployment and poverty, has caused the country to fall on the Hunger Index. He urged people to contribute just one handful of grains daily to help create a hunger-free world.
He concluded by saying that through social participation, we can empower the people around us, meet their basic needs, and work together to build a stronger, more prosperous, and developed society.
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