Punjab Govt forms advisory body on public admn; Opposition cries foul

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 8

The state government has issued a notification, announcing the formation of an advisory body on matters of public interest — a development that has run into trouble, as the Opposition has questioned the advisory body's legality. 

What notification says...

There shall be a temporary and ad hoc committee to advise the government on matters of public importance pertaining to public administration

The committee shall consist of a chairman and other members. The office of the chairman and members will not be entitled to any compensation.

Will seek Guv’s intervention

The advisory body must be seen as a back-door entry of the Delhi Government to Chandigarh. I will seek Governor’s intervention to act as a guardian of Punjab’s interests. — Partap Singh Bajwa, CLP Leader

This will undermine govt, cabinet

It amounts to creating an extra-constitutional authority without any accountability. This will undermine the mandate of elected government and the Cabinet. — Raja Warring, PCC President

There was a strong buzz in the media circles today that the decision to create the advisory body was a way of accommodating Rajya Sabha member Raghav Chadha as its chairman.

The notification says that “there shall be a temporary and ad hoc committee to advise the government on matters of public importance pertaining to public administration”.

The notification also reads that the committee shall “consist of a chairman and other members. The office of the chairman and members will not be entitled to any compensation”.

Taking on the AAP government, Congress Legislative Party (CLP) leader Partap Singh Bajwa said constituting a temporary body to advise the government on matters of public administration was aimed at appointing Chadha as the “regent of Punjab”.

“This means the Chief Minister is incapable of protecting the interests of every Punjabi. Now, the AAP government in Delhi will have a legitimate way to take control of Punjab, further reinforcing the perception that Bhagwant Mann is a subservient puppet of the Delhi Chief Minister,” said the Congress leader.

State Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring said the chairman of the advisory body may eventually end up as the de facto Chief Minister of the state.

“It amounts to creating an extra-constitutional authority without any accountability. This will undermine the constitutional mandate of an elected government and the Cabinet. The government must specify and spell out the motive behind this committee,” he said.

Later in the evening, the government issued a press note, saying that “there is no proposal to appoint anybody as the Deputy CM in the state”.

A government spokesman said all such news were purely manufactured, motivated and without any basis.

The previous Congress government had constituted a 10-member ‘strategic policy group’ to ensure better coordination between then ruling party and the state government.

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