Punjab govt jobs: Mann hands out 801 appointment letters, 600 more next week

MOHALI. Another 801 young people joined Punjab government service on Tuesday, taking the AAP government’s recruitment count to 71,777. Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann said not one of these jobs was bought with a bribe.

Mann gave out the appointment letters at a function in Mohali, calling them a Diwali gift. He said 600 more youth would get government jobs next week. He also dared the opposition to prove even one corruption charge against him, or quit politics.

“No cash, no farmaish,” Mann said of his government’s hiring. Every post, he said, was filled free of cost and strictly on merit. Under earlier governments, he said, jobs were sold for lakhs of rupees through cash, farmaish (recommendations) and vaddhi (bribes). He added that recruitment drives used to stay stuck in courts until candidates crossed the age limit.

“These appointment letters are not merely pieces of paper but symbols of hope, dignity and a secure future for thousands of families,” he told the new recruits. “Our government has ensured that talent, and not political connections or money, decides the future of Punjab’s youth.”

Mann said around 600 more posts had already been created in ancillary positions in PSPCL, the state power utility.

On the opposition, Mann said leaders with no real issue were running a “malicious campaign” against him. “I challenge these leaders to prove even a single allegation of corruption against me or quit politics,” he said.

He accused the Akali Dal and Congress of joining hands to defame him. “They cannot accept that an ordinary person, without any political dynasty or inherited power, is working for the ordinary people of Punjab,” he said. “Our answer will always be our work.”

Mann said the Akali leadership had taken over money-making businesses such as mining during its rule. “Those who looted Punjab for years are now preaching sermons on honesty,” he said.

He also mocked the Badal-led party. “Akali Dal leaders once claimed they would rule Punjab for 25 years. Today the party is struggling to find even 25 credible leaders in its own ranks.”

Responding to claims that he was draining the state treasury, Mann said every rupee was being spent on public welfare. “Unlike those who treated the state treasury as their personal property, we consider ourselves trustees of the people’s money,” he said.

Mann urged the new employees not to stop here, but to prepare for the UPSC exams and aim to become IAS and IPS officers. He said the state was building better schools and institutes so that children from poor families could reach the top of the administration.

He contrasted this with the previous Akali leadership, which he said spoke of subsidies for animal husbandry. “There is nothing wrong with animal husbandry, but the dreams of Punjab’s youth cannot be limited to that,” he said. “Our children deserve to become administrators, scientists, doctors and engineers.”

Mann said Punjab was now the top state in the country in school education, ahead of Kerala. In a post on X, he said the state ranked number one in primary education.

On farming, he said nearly 18,000 cusecs of canal water was now reaching fields, about the capacity of the entire Bhakra canal. This has cut dependence on tubewells and helped groundwater rise by one to five metres in several areas, he said. Canal water was reaching tail-end fields that had gone dry for decades. “This is not just an irrigation reform but an investment in Punjab’s coming generations,” Mann said.

Referring to the ongoing Asian Champions Trophy, he said Punjab’s sporting legacy was being revived with better facilities for young players. Sport, he said, would help keep youth away from drugs.

“The people of Punjab have given us the responsibility to serve, and we are fulfilling it with honesty,” Mann said.