Punjab govt discovers Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal held a non-existent department for 20 months

Punjab government acknowledges administrative blunder

After nearly 20 months, the Punjab government has realized that the Department of Administrative Reforms, assigned to Cabinet Minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, never existed. A notification issued by the Punjab government confirmed that Dhaliwal would now only hold the NRI Affairs portfolio.

The revised notification, released by the Punjab Governor on the advice of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, amended the previous portfolio allocations, effective from February 7, 2025.

Punjab minister Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal to hold the portfolio of NRI Affairs only. Department of Administrative Reforms, which was earlier allocated to Dhaliwal, is no longer in existence, as per the Punjab government Gazette notification. pic.twitter.com/3oX8vMVJ20

— ANI (@ANI) February 21, 2025

Portfolio history of Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal

Dhaliwal initially held the Agriculture and Farmers Welfare portfolio, which he lost during a Cabinet reshuffle in May 2023. Afterward, he was allocated both the NRI Affairs and Administrative Reforms departments. During another Cabinet reshuffle in September 2024, Dhaliwal retained both portfolios, but it has now been revealed that the Administrative Reforms department never existed.

Sources indicate that Dhaliwal never received any staff or secretary for the department, and no official meetings were held during the 20 months he was assigned the portfolio. Despite multiple attempts, Dhaliwal could not be reached for comment.

Political backlash over the oversight

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) criticized the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)-led Punjab government for its failure to notice the error for nearly two years. BJP spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari stated, “Imagine for 20 months the CM did not even know that a minister was running a non-existing department.”

Amit Malviya, head of the BJP’s IT department, accused the government of mismanagement, saying, “This reflects the crisis in Punjab’s governance. Arvind Kejriwal is a charlatan who must be banished from public life.”

Shiromani Akali Dal leader Harsimrat Kaur Badal also criticized AAP, claiming that ministers have no control over their departments as the government is “being run remotely from Delhi.”

NRI Affairs portfolio under spotlight

Dhaliwal has recently been in the spotlight as Punjab’s NRI Affairs Minister, particularly after the United States deported a group of illegal migrants to Amritsar on February 5, followed by two additional deportation flights.

A government source revealed that Dhaliwal had sought clarification from the government regarding the Administrative Reforms department after realizing that it did not have a designated secretary. However, the issue remained unresolved until the recent notification.

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