Days after constituting an ‘Advisory Committee’ to advise the Punjab Government on the “matters of public importance”, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday appointed the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha as its chairman — in an expected move.
When the State Government, on July 5, had issued the notification to constitute the “temporary body”, it was anticipated that Chadha would be appointed as its head. Opposition parties have all along been alleging that the AAP Government was being run by Delhi leadership, with Chadha calling the shots in Punjab.
As a head of the advisory panel, Chadha will be overseeing the conception and implementation of the AAP Government’s “pro-people” initiatives in Punjab, and also advise the State Government on matters related to finance.
As per the terms of reference of the committee, the chairperson and its members would not be entitled to any compensation or remuneration. It is believed that the committee has been constituted with such terms of reference so that Raghav Chadha could be appointed as its chairperson without violating the rule of “office of profit” under which a parliamentarian or a legislator cannot take up an assignment of a chairperson.
With the setting up of the committee, its chairperson would be able to be a part of official meetings and give his or her advice to the Government on paper. Also, the committee will be able to meet the government officers directly, besides giving them instructions.
It is believed that by forming this new body, an attempt would be made by the State Government to expeditiously implement the much-talked-about ‘Knowledge Sharing Agreement’ between the Delhi and Punjab Governments in April as nothing much has been done on that front in all these months.
As per the State Government’s official statement, the Chief Minister cleared the file regarding Chadha’s appointment on Monday. Through the statement, the Government has highlighted Chadha’s qualifications and achievements to project him as a suitable choice to lead the advisory panel.
It stated, “An alumni of top educational institutes across the globe like Modern School, Barakhamba, and London School of Economics, Raghav Chadha is a Chartered Accountant by profession. He has a distinction of having worked with some of the biggest corporate firms of the world.”
“The young political leader had earlier served as Financial Advisor to Delhi Finance Minister Manish Sisodia in the Aam Aadmi Party government. Though he drew a nominal salary of only Re one from the Delhi Government, he is credited with plugging the pilferages of the revenue and cutting down corruption. His strenuous efforts helped in making Delhi a Revenue surplus state and thereby putting it on the trajectory of high economic growth,” it added.
The statement added, “Hailing from Jalandhar, as his family moved to Delhi for work opportunities a few decades ago, Chadha had remained firmly connected with his roots and acted as a catalyst in revamping Delhi’s Punjabi Academy thereby promoting the Punjabi language and culture in the national capital.”
“In the new role, Raghav Chadha will shoulder the responsibility of overseeing the conception and implementation of pro-people initiatives of the AAP Government in Punjab and advise the government on matters of Finance accordingly,” it added.
“His sound financial knowledge and prudence are likely to be a boon for the debt-ridden Punjab, which is currently reeling under an extreme financial crunch, as he is expected to play an essential role in financial planning and making Punjab Debt-free,” read the statement.
As per the notification issued by the General Administration Department and signed by newly-appointed Chief Secretary Vijay Kumar Janjua on the first day of his office on July 5, the Chief Minister decided to constitute a temporary committee to advise the government on matters of public importance pertaining to public administration as and when such advice is sought from it after undertaking a review of Government’s working at various levels.
Chief Minister “is of the view that a body (temporary in nature) is required to tender advice to the government of Punjab on matters of public importance pertaining to public administration”, it added.
According to the terms of reference of the temporary or ad-hoc committee, the committee would be advisory in nature and will serve as per the pleasure of the Chief Minister. “The committee shall consist of a chairman and such other members, if any, who may be required from time to time, as appointed by the government,” it stated.
It added, “The office of chairman and members, if any, will not be entitled for any compensation, remuneration or perks of any kind or nomenclature in respect of such appointment. The chairman and members shall not even be entitled to payments that are compensatory in reimbursements.”
The notification further added that the details of the terms of appointment of chairman and members are further explicate in detail, in terms of Appointment being issued separately in respect of the individual appointments of the chairman and each of the members.
BOX: RAGHAV DE-FACTO CM: OPPOSITION
Punjab Chief Minister’s decision to appoint AAP MP Raghav Chadha as advisory panel head has evoked a sharp reaction from the opposition parties, dubbing him as the “defacto Chief Minister”.
Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring on Monday slammed the AAP-led government, accusing him of ceding too much power to Chadha through the committee. Warring said that appointing Chadha as chairman of the advisory panel is tantamount to making him the chief minister of Punjab. “Punjabis did not vote for this change. It seems @BhagwantMann ji has handed over the Punjab government on contract,” Warring said in a tweet.
Congress senior leader and the Leader of Opposition in Vidhan Sabha Partap Singh Bajwa criticised the State Government for appointing Chadha as the chairman of the advisory committee. “Like Sir Henry Lawrence foisted as the British Resident in Punjab in 1846 to control the Sikh Empire for an outsider, Raghav Chadha today has been appointed as the representative of the @AAPDelhi Durbaar in Punjab,” Bajwa said in a tweet.
“This move is nothing more than circumventing the people's will and choice in Punjab and making the State a colonial outpost of @ArvindKejriwal ji. Absolutely uncalled for!” he said.
Also taking a dig at the AAP-led government, Shiromani Akali Dal said that the move put the “show manager Raghav Chadha formally on stage”. “The Puppeteer, the puppet and puppetry. The Circus Master removes the curtain, putting the show manager @raghav_chadha formally on stage,” said a tweet on the party’s official handle.
It added, “De facto CM Chadha taking over formally as Controller General is no news for Pbis. They always knew who pulled the strings in @BhagwantMann puppet dance. Now even the fig leaf of an elected govt is removed, striping (sic) naked the toothless tigers whom Pbis had placed their trust in.”
Capt Amarinder Singh-led Punjab Lok Congress also said: “Today Bhagwant Mann has reaffirmed his rubber stamp status by appointing @raghav_chadha as the Chairman of the advisory committee and making him the De facto CM.”