The AAP government in Punjab has suspended two senior IAS officers, D. K. Tiwari and Gurpreet Singh Khaira, a day after informing the Punjab and Haryana High Court that it would withdraw its notification dissolving over 13,000 gram panchayats. The decision to suspend the officers comes amid controversy over the dissolution of the panchayats, which was later deemed “technically flawed.”
The move has sparked debate in bureaucratic and political circles, with the Opposition Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) questioning why action was taken only against the officers and not the minister involved. The government defended its initial decision, stating that the gram panchayats were not functioning as per constitutional provisions. The panchayat dissolution affected over 13,000 panchayats, with civic body elections scheduled for November.