In a major administrative shake-up, the Punjab government has scrapped the Department of Administrative Reforms, which had been assigned to Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal but had not existed for the past 20 months. The decision, based on Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s directive, was officially announced in a gazette notification issued by the Punjab Chief Secretary.

The notification clarified that Dhaliwal would now only retain the NRI Affairs portfolio. The revelation that the department was non-existent caused embarrassment for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government, with opposition parties seizing the opportunity to criticize the administration.

The BJP took a dig at the Punjab government, with senior advisor Kanchan Gupta sarcastically calling it an example of the "Kejriwal Model" and accusing CM Mann of being oblivious to the situation. BJP’s IT Cell head Amit Malviya further attacked AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal, calling him a "charlatan who must be banished from public life."

Former Union Minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal also criticized the Mann government, alleging that Punjab was being governed by a "remote control in Delhi."

The move comes amid speculation that AAP is shifting its power center from Delhi to Punjab following a heavy defeat in the February 5 Delhi Assembly polls. Besides dissolving the department, the Punjab government also transferred 21 IPS officers, including district police chiefs, and is reportedly seeking mass resignations from lawyers in the state’s Advocate General’s office.

These developments precede a crucial two-day Punjab Assembly session scheduled for February 24-25.