PMO cleard 'decks' for Hansraj's nomination

New Delhi: The sudden decision of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to field Punjabi folk singer Hansraj Hans from North West Delhi parliamentary constituency added to the woes of government officials as they were assigned to 'manage' the resignation of Hans from the post of vice chairman of National Commission for Safai Karamcharis office on 'most urgent' basis.

As per the highly-placed sources, the officials of the Prime Minister's Office were in constant touch with the concerned officials of the Ministry of Social Justice, who were assigned the responsibility to expedite the resignation procedure of Hans. The Punjabi singer was holding the post at the Commission since July 2018.

As per the sources, the officials were directed by the PMO to complete the resignation process as fast as they can on Monday, a day prior to the announcement of Hans as BJP's nominee for North West Delhi Lok Sabha seat in place of sitting MP Udit Raj.

"The resignation process of Hans was completed by 7 pm and notification was also issued in this regard. The PMO made a final call in the late midnight to 'confirm' the completion of resignation process," the sources said. However, the ministry has not yet removed Hans from his post on the website of the commission. Notably, the BJP announced candidature of Hans hours before the deadline for filing of nomination on Tuesday.