Punjab minister flips coin to decide on posting of lecturers, stokes controversy - Watch

Opposition has demanded Punjab minister Charanjit Singh Channi's resignation for flipping a coin to decide on the posting of two lecturers.

Pic courtesy: ANI

Chandigarh: A Punjab minister took to flipping a coin to decide on the posting of a lecturer, prompting the Opposition parties to demand his resignation.

The incident took place on Monday when the Technical Education Minister Charanjit Singh Channi had called 37 lecturers, who were recently recruited through the Punjab Public Service Commission (PPSC) examination, for giving them their posting orders.

Two lecturers - one from Nabha and another from Patiala - wanted to be posted to a government polytechnic institute at Patiala. In order to resolve the issue, Channi decided to toss a coin.

The candidates agreed with him and many in the room were heard giggling when he tossed the coin. Following is the video of the incident shared by a social media user.

Bizarre!!! postings in Punjab are decided by a "Toss".. while I thought there were no real life examples of probability ! pic.twitter.com/E2pPSBogJo

— MayankG (@15th_character) February 13, 2018

However, the minister maintained that he did "nothing wrong" while claiming that the postings of lecturers were done "on merit" and in a "transparent" manner.

"Both of them wanted to be posted at the same place and their merit was also equal. They proposed tossing a coin to decide the matter. Nothing wrong has happened and no illegality has taken place. Everything was done on merit and in a transparent manner," Channi told reporters on Tuesday, as per PTI.

He added that the postings were given to the candidates as per their choice of places. "During the previous (SAD-BJP) regime, the postings used to be sold and corruption was rampant. I broke that nexus," the minister claimed.

Meanwhile, Opposition parties Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) and BJP lashed out Channi.

"A minister has to maintain the decorum of the ministerial berth which Channi has failed to do by deciding an official matter through tossing a coin. He has brought embarrassment to the government and he should be dropped from the ministry before he indulges in more such acts," said state BJP secretary Vineet Joshi.

SAD spokesman and former minister Daljit Singh Cheema said flipping a coin by the minister showed how serious the Amarinder Singh-led Congress government was regarding governance in Punjab.

"It seems that the ministers are just passing time and enjoying their ministerial berths," he added. 

(With PTI inputs)