Owing to the standoff between the ministers and the Chief Secretary, the latter was reportedly asked by the government to stay away from the meeting. The meeting was thus conducted by the Home Secretary Satish Chandra.
During the meeting, the cabinet ministers reposed their faith in CM, who also holds the charge of the Excise Departemnt, and left the decision onto him to clear the policy.
However, the Finance Minsiter Manpreet Badal and Technical Education Minister Charanjit Channi, along with others have said that as a matter of principle, they would not take part in any of the meetings in which Chief Secy was present.
Owing to this, the CM has also asked the ministers to place on record their contentions regarding the Chief Secretary. However, placing on record has erupted trouble for the topmost bureaucrat who is to retire this August.
Incidentally, since December 31st last year, the Chief Secy has been holding the charge of the Financial Secretary Taxation.
As per the information acquired from the sources, after FM Badal, along with other ministers, launched his protest over the alleged behaviour of the Chief Secretary, the CM is learnt to have told them that walking out of the meeting was inapproopriate on their part. CM further said, ministers should have told the officers about their reservation before calling off the meeting.
Prior to this, the ministers had made up their mind to take up the issue of the Chief Secy and the pro-vcontractors clauses in the cabinet meeting with the CM, but, this would have caused humiliation to the Chief Minister and the government.
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On Friday, Manpreet Badal along with other ministers had staged a walkout from the meeting after Chief Secy made alleged remarks.
Meanwhile, Congress legislator/ Gidderbaha MLA Amrinder Singh Raja Warring in a series of tweet questioned the Chief Secy regarding "the the involvement of his son in running a distillery in Kapurthala as a partner with a top liquor contractor."
“The licence to operate the distillery cannot be sublet, since the country liquor quota stands only in the name of the licensee,” he said.
Raja Warring also alleged that smuglled liquor belonging to the company of the liquor contractor (who is partner of the CS's son) was caught and then let off.
Manpreet Badal later revealed that the Chief Minister had been authorized to tweak the excise policy in the wake of substantial revenue loss of 36 days due to the coronavirus induced curfew (between April 1 and May 6).
“The behaviour of the CS in the past two days was not in line with the important office he holds. Thus, as part of unofficial business in the cabinet, I moved the proposal that I would not attend any meeting where the CS was present. I was supported by my colleague Charanjit Singh Channi. Later, we were asked by the CM to put it on record, after all cabinet ministers unanimously supported us,” he said.
Badal said the decision was not because of any ego clash, but had been taken in the "highest interests of the state of Punjab."
Amidst the standoff between the Council of Ministers and the Chief Secretary, lobbying has already begun for the post of Chief Secretary. At least three senior officers of Punjab cadre (1987 batch) are being considered.
Interestingly, the Chief Secretary is the Secretary to Cabinet, according to Rules of Business, Government of Punjab, and it is unprecedented that a unanimous decision was taken by the cabinet against the custodian of all records of the cabinet.
Sources in the government said though seniormost IAS Officer KBS Sidhu should have been asked to conduct the meeting, after the CS was asked to stay away, this was not done. This, too, has raised eyebrows.