CALLING SUPERMANN?

It's been just four months since the Aam Aadmi Party won a historic mandate in Punjab but chief minister Bhagwant Mann is already in the crosshairs.

- Anilesh S. Mahajan

The opposition is already using clips of his own iconic political satire, Kulfi Garma Garam-made during his comedian days-to troll him. Their latest grouse is the appointment of Raghav Chadha, Rajya Sabha MP and close associate of Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, as chairperson of the state government's advisory committee on matters of public importance.

From the beginning, Mann has tried to brush away the opposition's charge of being "a rubber stamp CM" controlled by "AAP's Delhi durbar". To overcome this, the CM has been pushing hard to showcase two aspects of governance AAP is known for, a crackdown on corruption and reforms in the education system. The government has been pursuing corruption cases against ex-ministers Sadhu Singh Dharamsot and Sangat Singh Gilchian of the Congress. On May 24, Mann had won kudos for sacking his own minister, Vijay Singla, after it was alleged that he had sought 1 per cent commission on tenders for contracts, etc, in the health and family welfare department. A case was registered and Singla arrested. But he claimed he had been falsely implicated on account of "political rivalry", and on July 8 secured bail from the Punjab and Haryana High Court. However that case proceeds, Mann still faces a whole litany of challenges on other fronts.

Take education. Earlier, state finance minister Harpal Cheema had elaborated on how the Punjab government is committed to working on the sector on the lines of the "Delhi model of education", which includes raising the standards of state-run schools, zeroing in on schools of eminence and building a young entrepreneurs programme. That has entailed a Rs 14,000 crore outlay-9 per cent of the state budget-on school education alone this year.