Under fire from Opposition, Punjab CM Capt Amarinder Singh defends giving jobs to sons of Congress MLAs

On Friday, the Punjab Cabinet decided to give government jobs to the sons of two Congress MLAs on “compassionate” ground. Opposition SAD has accused the Congress-led Punjab government of “purchasing” the loyalty of their legislators to prevent infighting.

Amid criticism from the Opposition, Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh on Saturday defended his government's decision to give government jobs to the sons of two Congress MLAs on “compassionate” grounds, saying it was a recognition of the sacrifices made by their grandfathers for the country. On Friday, the Punjab Cabinet decided to appoint Arjun Pratap Singh Bajwa and Bhisham Pandey to the posts of inspector in the Punjab Police and naib tehsildar in the Revenue Department, respectively. The appointments were made as “special cases” on “compassionate” grounds. Arjun is the son of Qadian MLA Fateh Jung Singh Bajwa and his grandfather was former Punjab minister Satnam Singh Bajwa, who was killed during militancy in 1987. Bhisham Pandey is the son of Ludhiana legislator Rakesh Pandey and grandson of Joginder Pal Pandey, who was gunned down by terrorists in 1987.