chdigarh: More than a year after the Punjab government created a special advisory committee with Raghav Chadha as its chairman to provide advice to the Chief Minister, the administration has yet to add any further members or hold meetings for the body.
Since Chadha’s appointment in July of last year, according to high-level sources in the General Administration Department, the government has not taken any action on this issue.
Chadha, who was expelled from the Rajya Sabha in August after being accused of breaking the norms and abusing his position, wed actress Parineeti Chopra last month. He was a frequent visitor to Chandigarh and showed a deep interest in the affairs of Punjab. He has been missing from the state for a while, though, and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) sources explain his absence as being a result of his busy schedule in Delhi, where the party is under investigation by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the Delhi Excise Scam.
Shruti Singh, the Chief Secretary of Punjab, was reached by Print last week via calls, mails, and a visit to her office, but she chose not to respond to questions about the advisory group, its members, or any meetings, if any.
The Punjab administration said on July 6th of last year that an advisory group would be immediately formed, headed by the province’s former chief secretary, V.K. Janjua. A letter from the Chief Secretary designating Chadha as the committee’s chairman was sent out a few days later, on July 11th. The Punjab and Haryana High Court received a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) the following day contesting this action. Attorney Jagmohan Singh Bhatti, who filed the petition, said that “temporary” or “non-existent” legislation of the state or federal government were cited in Chadha’s appointment, making it unlawful and arbitrary.
On July 16, Bhatti submitted a request to the Punjabi government contesting Chadha’s appointment.
When Print reached out to him, Bhatti revealed that he had asked the government for more information last week about the Cabinet meeting that took place on July 28 and approved the creation of the committee and Chadha’s nomination.
The government’s reaction towards my queries has been completely unsatisfactory.The government did not provide any other information save the letter submission, which is already in the public domain, regarding how and why Raghav Chadha was appointed. I shall knock on the High Court’s doors once more to protest the appointment once I hear back from my request for more information, Bhatti stated.
Raghav Chadha was contacted by Print via messaging. This report will be revised once we hear back.
Legal quagmire
Bhatti said in his plea that while Chadha was not a Punjab Legislative Assembly member, his appointment was “on par with the government within the government.”
Gurmindar Singh, a seasoned attorney who was just named the state’s Advocate General, spoke on behalf of the Punjab government before the Punjab and Haryana High Court.
Chief Justice Ravi Shankar Jha’s Division Bench ordered the government to decide on Bhatti’s appeal by August 1st.
Speaking to Print, Bhatti claimed that on November 21st of last year, the Chief Secretary of Punjab had answered to him.
As a reply, they included the directives about forming the committee on July 6 and designating Chadha on July 11The government also provided a copy of a supplement order that General Administration Secretary Kumar Rahul had signed on September 2. It claimed that the formation of the committee and Chadha’s nomination had been agreed at a Cabinet meeting on July 28.
The Committee’s role
In the announcements signed by Janjua, it was stated that the CM had examined the work being done by the government at all levels and believed that the Punjab government needed to be advised by an organization of a “advisory nature” on issues of public administration of the utmost importance.
According to the committee’s charter and terms of purpose, it will be ad hoc and ad hoc committee for advising the government, with a chairman and other members who may be nominated by the government as needed from time to time.
No salary, compensation, or allowances of any kind or designation shall be due to the chairman or members. The chairman and members are not eligible for any sort of compensatory payment, according to their stated policy.