BJP against appointment of CPSes

Sanjeev Singh Bariana

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, March 27

The BJP will oppose the intended Congress move on appointing Chief Parliamentary Secretaries (CPSes) during the ongoing Vidhan Sabha session, said Phagwara MLA Som Parkash here today.

“The High Court on August 12 last year had set aside the appointments of 21 CPSes. These were illegal and unconstitutional besides an unnecessary financial burden on the exchequer merely to pamper sulking party leaders.”

He was reacting to a CM Capt Amarinder Singh indication that ‘the government will soon bring legislation to appoint parliamentary secretaries. They will be attached to ministers concerned.’

Advocate HCArora who had earlier challenged the government decision in the HC following which the appointments were cancelled, said “I have already completed a draft of the matter which I will be submitting to the High Court. These posts are absolutely illegal.”

Senior government sources said that “the HC had struck down the appointments because no law mandated them. The appointments will not face any legal hurdle once the assembly ratified the law.”

Som Parkash said appointment of CPSes had been scrapped in at least six states, including Himachal Pradesh, Delhi, Bombay, Goa and Manipur.

“On one side the new government said it was committed to prune the government expenditure starting with removal of security guards from VIP duty while at the same time it was appointing a sizably big number of advisors, separately besides these intended CPS. The SAD-BJP had nine advisers while the current government already has more than a dozen now.”