Chandigarh: Ten days after Punjab Governor Banwari Lal Purohit put in his resignation from his position citing personal reasons, Raj Bhavan announced that he is all set to “embark on a significant Punjab border visit from 20 to 23 February.”
“This marks his sixth visit to the border regions in the past two-and-a-half years,” added a press statement issued by the Raj Bhavan.
It appears from Monday’s announcement that the President has not accepted the governor’s resignation and he is likely to continue on the position.
The 83-year-old BJP leader from Nagpur is learned to have met Union Home Minister Amit Shah before tendering his resignation to the President on 3 February. What transpired in the meeting between the two is still not known.
Purohit was appointed the governor of Punjab in August 2021. His term, if his resignation is not accepted, would end in August 2026.
The Punjab governor is also the ex-officio administrator of Chandigarh and it was largely believed that the governor had resigned in the wake of the alleged rigging of Chandigarh mayoral polls by the BJP.
Purohit has a turbulent equation with Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and his upcoming border visit is expected to ruffle feathers once again.
“During his upcoming visit, the Governor will traverse through the border districts of Pathankot, Gurdaspur, Amritsar, Taran Taran, Ferozepur, and Fazilka. His itinerary includes meetings with central agencies and the state government officials to review the progress made since his previous visits and to address any new issue that cropped up during the recent times,” the Raj Bhavan press statement said.
The governor’s earlier field visits have met with vicious criticism from Mann. During the June session of the Vidhan Sabha last year, Mann attacked the governor, saying that if he was so keen on travelling across Punjab and meeting people he should stand for elections.
The governor responded by saying that while he would not use the Punjab government helicopter to travel anywhere in the state, he would continue to meet people.
“A key focus of these meetings will be on enhancing coordination between central and state agencies to overcome bottlenecks, particularly in the realms of border infrastructure, security, smuggling, and combating the menace of drug trafficking in the border areas. The Governor’s agenda also includes interactions with Village Defence Committees (VDCs), which have proven instrumental in combating drugs and other social evils in the border regions,” the Raj Bhavan statement added.
(Edited by Uttara Ramaswamy)
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