From the corridors of power: Of red diaries, soft words and hard politics
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s New Year meeting with bureaucrats earlier this month broke from precedent. It was his fourth such interaction since the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government took office in March 2022. Unlike earlier meetings, where officers were urged to “pull up their socks”, this time Mann reached for reassurance.
“Keep doing your work. There is no red diary. You don’t have to fear anyone. I can assure you that,” Mann told officers, according to those present.
The message was unmistakably political. Mann was referring to Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) chief Sukhbir Singh Badal’s warnings to officers against siding with the AAP government during Zila Parishad and Panchayat Samiti elections. In one line, the chief minister attempted to take the sting out of those threats.
The timing was no coincidence. The rural body polls have been messy. Patiala Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Varun Sharma was sent on leave after an audio clip surfaced, allegedly of him instructing subordinates to prevent Opposition candidates from filing nominations. A Public Interest Litigation (PIL) followed swiftly, and Sharma proceeded on leave just hours before the high court hearing. Raj Kamal Chaudhury, State Election Commissioner, later wrote to the Director General of Police (DGP), noting that the episode had dented the police’s public image.
With Assembly elections due early next year, political temperatures are rising, and so are bureaucratic anxieties. The Mann government is expected to announce development projects and revive headline promises, including the much-advertised Rs 1,000 monthly assistance. Conventionally, the final year of a government sees officers growing cautious, uncertain about who might be in power next. Recent events have only added to the nerves.
On November 8, just ahead of the Taran Taran Assembly byelection, the Election Commission of India (ECI) suspended then SSP Ravjot Kaur Grewal over the alleged misuse of the police machinery during the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) period. The decision sent ripples through both political and bureaucratic circles.
The suspension was read through several prisms. Election Commissioner Sukhbir Singh Sandhu, a retired IAS officer, had earlier worked closely with the Badal government in Punjab. In 2007, he was appointed Special Principal Secretary to then CM Parkash Singh Badal, tasked with overseeing infrastructure development. The ECI’s action on Akali complaints is also being interpreted as a signal that the BJP is once again taking the SAD seriously, reviving speculation about a possible SAD-BJP reunion. This is a prospect that makes rival parties distinctly uncomfortable.
As for the “red diary”, it is a familiar prop. Sukhbir Badal had brandished it during the 2022 Assembly elections too, waving it at rallies as a warning to officials to remain “neutral”. The message, unchanged over the years, is that governments come and go, but files have long memories.
Four IAS officers of the Punjab cadre have begun the year without the promotions they were due on January 1.
Two 2001-batch officers, Gurkirat Kirpal Singh and Priyank Bharti, were expected to be promoted as Principal Secretaries, in keeping with long-standing practice. IAS officers typically complete 25 years of service and move up on January 1. This year, that unwritten rule did not apply.
Gurkirat Kirpal Singh has been without a posting for over nine months, having been removed as Home Secretary on March 24 with no new assignment since.
The same uncertainty surrounds 1996-batch officers A K Sinha and V K Meena, who were due for promotion as Additional Chief Secretaries. A K Sinha, too, has been without a posting since November 1, following his removal as Power Secretary and CMD of PSPCL and PSTCL.
Sources say no promotion meeting was convened by Chief Secretary KAP Sinha. While promotions are vacancy-dependent and not legally mandated on January 1, the government has followed the practice consistently in previous years. This year’s pause has become a quiet talking point in government corridors.
In contrast, earlier years were punctual. In 2025, 2000-batch officers Rahul Tewari and Kumar Rahul were promoted. In 2024, 1999-batch officers Neelkanth Avhad, Bhawna Garg and Ajoi Sharma moved up, while 1998-batch officers Sumer Singh Gurjar and Vikas Garg were promoted in 2023.
When Raja Warring broke the internet with his maths
Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring offered a quick lesson in how politics and arithmetic can collide online.
At a public interaction, Warring multiplied 12,000 by five and announced the answer as 48,000. The maths was wrong, but the moment was right for social media. He was asking women to seek a lump sum from a government that has promised Rs 1,000 a month, a promise still waiting to be kept.
The internet wasted no time. The clip went viral, memes followed, and free maths tuition arrived from all sides. Netizens pointed out that the correct figure was 60,000, while rivals questioned his homework.
A routine interaction soon turned into a viral maths class. One wrong sum, and the internet does not just correct you. It grades you, loudly and in public.
Kanchan Vasdev is a Senior Assistant Editor in The Indian Express’... Read More
