Express View on Gurbani telecast: Face the music

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann promised to go after the corrupt, regardless of their political standing. He has made a show of doing that. He said he would give 300 units of power free to people of the state. His government has implemented that. Now his government has passed a bill freeing the telecast of Gurbani from the Golden Temple in Amritsar from the hold of the PTC, the channel owned by Shiromani Akali Dal president Sukhbir Singh Badal, which has had the rights. This is a promise he had made in the run-up to the assembly election last year. It was widely seen as a move to loosen the hold of the SAD on the Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee, the body that governs Sikh shrines. With this move, however, he has run into a storm, with questions being raised about the legality of the decision. The move is also being seen by the AAP government’s opponents and critics as an undue intrusion into the panthic space.

Even before this, CM Mann has had his fair share of controversy over the past year or so after being elected last March with a runaway majority of 92 in a 117-member assembly. Coming on the heels of the arrest of radical preacher Amritpal Singh, the ruling Aam Aadmi Party’s victory in the Jalandhar Lok Sabha bypolls in May has given him a much-needed boost. However, challenges abound. The people of Punjab are not known for their patience. The much-feted free power may come to bite the AAP government if this summer is marked by long outages. Other initiatives like employment, better schools and mohalla clinics are also up for scrutiny by the people. The Opposition is already alleging that “badlaav” (change) is merely cosmetic.

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Then there are the unfulfilled promises. Last week, Union Home Minister Amit Shah asked CM Mann about the sum of Rs 1,000 a month that his party had promised to give women of the state. Reeling under a massive debt with free power only adding to it and the Centre refusing to pay it the Rural Development Fee (RDF) for the last four harvest seasons, the state is taking steps such as an increase in the cess on fuel. It also plans to mop up revenue by imposing a levy on home and vehicle loans besides raising the stamp duty on property transfer. Short on funds, it is not in a position to dole out any more subsidies. It must ensure that all its so-called pro-people initiatives work on the ground and its panthic moves are made with sensitivity and care. Or else, the goodwill that catapulted it to power could evaporate as quickly as it built up.