{Shake-up in CMO} Now, two key officials of Mann’s media team quit

Chandigarh
The shake-up in Punjab chief minister’s office continued with director, media relations, Baltej Pannu and director, communications, Manpreet Kaur resigning from their posts.
The two resignations came amid a growing buzz in official circles about the appointment of Bibhav Kumar, a close aide of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal, by the Punjab government as chief adviser in the chief minister’s office.
“Pannu and Manpreet Kaur have resigned from their posts,” a spokesperson of CMO said on Tuesday, while categorically dismissing all talk of the appointment of Kejriwal’s aide in the Punjab CMO as “false” and “social media gossip.”
Pannu, a former journalist engaged by the Punjab State Media Society (PUNMEDIA), had joined the chief minister’s team in July 2022 to handle his “national and international media relations”. Kaur, who is also a journalist, tendered her resignation last week. She had joined Mann’s team as director of communications one-and-a-half months ago and was handling the chief minister’s social media accounts, said the person quoted above.
Mann’s two other aides — officer on special duty Onkar Singh and director of communications Navneet Wadhwa — were removed from the CMO in the past two weeks. Onkar and Wadhwa, who were both close to Mann, had joined his team in 2022. Onkar was in-charge of the chief minister’s Dhuri assembly constituency, while Wadhwa was handling the CM’s social media accounts.
These changes in the CMO are an indication of increasing focus of the central leadership of the AAP on governance-related issues in Punjab and implementation of poll guarantees given by the party in the 2022 assembly polls.
“The party’s central leadership wants to showcase Punjab as a model of its programmes and policies. They are just trying to set the house in order for smooth and transparent working,” a senior party leader said, requesting anonymity.
On Monday, Kejriwal held one-to-one meetings with most of the cabinet ministers, including the newly-inducted ones, and asked them for an update on the performance and future plans of their departments. “The ministers were told to speak freely and without any hesitation. He asked us about all we have done in our departments so far and the future roadmap, besides giving his suggestions,” one of the ministers said, requesting anonymity.