In a shocking development, the AAP govt in Punjab has admitted that one of its senior ministers was heading a department that didn’t even exist. On 21st February, the Government of Punjab stripped senior minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal of the Department of Administrative Reforms portfolio via a gazette notification. Dhaliwal will only hold the NRI Affairs ministry from now on. Interestingly, the notification states that the Department of Administrative Reforms only existed on paper, with no meetings held or work done under the ministry for the past two years.
The notification read, “In partial modification of Punjab Government Notification No. 2/1/2022-2Cabinet/2230 dated 23.09.2024, regarding allocation of portfolios amongst the Ministers, the Department of Administrative Reforms earlier allotted to Shri Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, Cabinet Minister, is not in existence as on date.” The amendment in the portfolio came into effect from 7th February 2025.
According to officials, the said department was already “redundant” as there were no officers in charge, and it existed only on paper. Notably, during the May 2023 reshuffle of the ministries, Dhaliwal was stripped of two key portfolios—agriculture and rural development and panchayats. He was given the administrative reforms department, which was earlier held by Inderbir Singh Nijjar.
Punjab had a Minister for Administrative Reforms but no Ministry of Administrative Reforms. #AAP Government headed by CM @BhagwantMann was blissfully unaware of this till it erased the tag of Minister for Administrative Reforms.
— Kanchan Gupta 🇮🇳 (@KanchanGupta) February 22, 2025
This is Kejriwal Model.https://t.co/XWxy0RQXyk
The Times of India quoted an unnamed official saying, “There have been no meetings or any programmes related to the administrative reforms department. There is the Department of Good Governance and Information Technology that is looking into ways to improve efficiency by enhancing internal governance through the use of IT tools. At the same time, there has been talk of better service delivery by the bureaucracy, for which the Department of Administrative Reforms could have been instrumental.”
21 officers shuffled across the state
The change in Dhaliwal’s portfolio came into effect amidst major changes in the Aam Aadmi Party-led government in Punjab. Reportedly, 21 IPS officers have been transferred with immediate effect, including the shuffling of police chiefs in many districts.
The major changes in the administrative structure came days after AAP’s humiliating defeat in the Delhi Assembly Elections. Since the defeat, Punjab AAP leaders have met AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal at his residence in Delhi.
Furthermore, there were speculations that Kejriwal might move to Punjab to take over the Chief Ministership, but it turned out to be merely a rumour, which Bhagwant Mann categorically refuted.
AAP leader Manish Sisodia, often deemed the “education reformist” of Delhi by AAP leadership, went on a trip to Punjab, which has been seen as “interference” by the Delhi leadership, according to teachers’ union.
It appears that a power struggle is emerging between AAP’s Delhi and Punjab leaders, as several Delhi leaders now have “no work” after the Assembly elections defeat.
