Farmers Movement Archive

Pb shifts BDPO whose letter said protests by govt

Chandigarh: Punjab chief minister on Sarurday ordered the transfer of the serving Sardulgarh BDPO to state headquarters, and immediate withdrawal of the letter issued by him regarding some farm protests which he claimed to have been organised by the Punjab government. “The Punjab Government has not organised any such protest, as claimed by the block development and panchayat officer (BDPO),” said a government spokesperson. Far from organising any protests, he said, the government has in fact been appealing to all political organisations to refrain from organising any public gatherings in the light of the Covid pandemic. The spokesperson said the BDPO, who he described as overzealous, had on his own announced a protest dharna on September 21 and had issued a letter asking all panchayat secretaries under his block to intimate all sarpanches about the same. He had also wrongly claimed that ministers/MLAs will also join these protests, said the spokesperson, rejecting any such plans by the state government. The Punjab government had neither planned such protests against the farm ordinances nor asked the BDPO to issue the letter in question, said the spokesperson, adding that the CM had asked the officials concerned to inquire into the whole affair and find who was responsible for the communication.

The Times of India

2020-09-20

Chandigarh