Bains appinted Adviser on national affairs and media to the Punjab CM

by Punjabnewswire4u.blogspot.com (Balbir)

CHANDIGARH, JULY 20

Celebrated free lance journalist , academician and political ideologue, Mr. Harcharan Bains was today appointed Advisor on  National Affairs  and Media  to the Punjab Chief  Minister Mr. Parkash Singh Badal.

   The former Media Advisor will be in the rank of Minister of State. He has been asked to over see the media related work of the Deputy Chief Minister also.

    For Mr. Bains, this will be an unprecedented fourth tenure in the Chief Minister, having worked in similar capacity with the then Chief Minister Mr. Surjit Singh Barnala (1985) and with Mr. Badal (1997-2002 and 2007-12).

   In a statement here this evening, Mr. Bains expressed profound
gratitude to Mr. Badal and his Deputy and son, the SAD president Mr. Sukhbir Singh Badal.  “This is a touching gesture of deep affection and great trust by the CM and the Deputy CM. I will do everything to deserve the trust and confidence reposed in me.”

   Mr. Bains, who shot to political and media center stage with his perceptive and incisive articulation of  the Akali, Punjab and Sikh case  the national and regional media following the Operation Blue Star,  has also served as Associate Professor in the Department of Languages and Journalism, in the Punjab Agricultural University Ludhiana. 

 For his staunch loyalty to Mr. Badal, Mr. Bains earned the wrath of the then Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh and was booted out of the PAU.  His wife also lost her job and official accommodation as a part of the implementation of a threat publically delivered to him by the then Media Advisor to CM, Mr. BIS Chahal  at Longowal  in July 2002.  He then resigned his job to assist Mr. Badal full time during the Akali supremo’s battle against the Congress government. Mr. Bains also spearheaded the SAD campaign during the years of militancy and later during the tenure of Mr. Beant Singh as Chief Minister.

   Mr. Bains had been offered a plush post with cabinet rank as Media Advisor to CM by the late Mr. Beant Singh in 1993, an offer Mr. Bains  had  politely  turned down citing his loyalty to Mr Badal as the reason.

  Apart from his political write ups, Mr. Bains is also considered a perceptive poet, literary critic and a music enthusiast.  One of his books in the mystical genre, Hazel, a story of spiritual pursuit of a mother and her son, is due for release in September. He is also working on two books on Mr. Badal, an account of personal biographical reminiscences and a compilation of historic speeches delivered by the Akali stalwart in his long and event career. Mr.
Bains is also an international cricket and tennis commentator, having covered several tests , one day matches and two Davis Cup ties.