Chandigarh, Oct 3 (PTI) Punjab minister Harpal Singh Cheema on Saturday asked newly-appointed state Congress chief Pargat Singh is he in support of the anti-sacrilege bill and also why he never raised the issues of drug abuse and sacrilege when he was in the Shiromani Akali Dal.
The AAP leader also questioned Singh’s performance as a sports and education minister during the previous Congress regime.
The Congress appointed Singh as the president of the Punjab Congress on Friday after Amrinder Singh Raja Warring submitted his resignation.
The party high command replaced Warring following weeks of internal rift over the state leadership that threatened to impact the party’s campaign for the crucial assembly elections due early next year.
Speaking to the media over Singh’s appointment, Cheema said the former Olympian began his political career with the Shiromani Akali Dal.
When Akalis were in power, Singh never raised the issues of drug scourge and sacrilege incidents related to Guru Granth Sahib, the state finance minister alleged.
He accused Singh of being silent on these two issues during the Akali regime.
Cheema further claimed when the Jaagat Jot Sri Guru Granth Sahib Satkar (Amendment) Bill, 2026 was introduced in the assembly, Singh had claimed that one faction of the Congress was in support of the bill and the other faction was not.
“I want to ask the new Punjab Congress president which faction of the Congress he was leading now,” he asked.
Questioning the performance of Singh while being the sports and education minister in the previous government, Cheema alleged that he “badly failed” in these departments.
He referred to the recruitment process of 1,158 assistant professors carried out when Singh was the education minister.
The recruitment of assistant professors was set aside by the Supreme Court for bypassing the rules with regard to the selection process, said Cheema.
Cheema further said even as Singh was coming from sports background, a “miniscule” amount of sports budget was kept when he was holding the sports portfolio.
Singh began his political journey in 2012 when he contested the assembly elections on a SAD ticket from the Jalandhar Cantonment seat. He defeated a Congress candidate.
In 2016, Singh was suspended from the SAD. Later, he joined the Congress and won from Jalandhar Cantt seat in the 2017 and 2022 assembly polls. PTI CHS ZMN
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