Punjab Congress urges Governor to terminate knowledge-sharing agreement signed between AAP-led govts in Punjab and Delhi

Chandigarh, May 3

Punjab Congress on Tuesday urged Punjab Governor Banwari Lal Purohit to terminate the knowledge-sharing agreement signed between the chief ministers of AAP-led governments in Punjab and Delhi, as it is a violation of the Constitution and Rules of Business of the two states.

A five-member delegation comprising Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee chief Amarinder Raja Warring, Congress Legislative Party leader Partap Singh Bajwa, Raj Kumar Chabbewal, Sunder Shyam Arora and Captain Sandeep Sandhu, while submitting a memorandum to the Governor, pointed out that the agreement between the two states had neither his approval nor the approval of the Lieutenant Governor of NCT Delhi.

The delegation also sought Governor’s intervention in the deteriorating law and order situation and political vendetta in registering a case against Kumar Vishwas and Alka Lamba.

In the memorandum, it has been pointed out that the agreement signed by the Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Keriwal was illegal as the CMs of the two states had no inherent power as per the provisions of the Constitution to enter into such an agreement without due deliberation by the Council of ministers of their respective states and without prior approval of the Punjab Governor as well as the Lieutenant Governor of NCT Delhi.

It has been further pointed out that as per the Article 154, the executive power of the state shall be vested in the Governor and it shall be exercised by him either directly or through subordinate officers in accordance with the Constitution.

Further, the rules that every order or instrument of the government of the state of Punjab shall be signed either by a Secretary, an Additional Secretary, a Joint Secretary, a Deputy Secretary or an Under Secretary or such other officer as may be specially empowered by the Governor on that and the signature so made shall be deemed to be the proper authentication of such order or instrument, reads out the memorandum.

As per the March 29, 2021 notification of the Ministry of Law and Justice, the chief minister of NCT Delhi has to seek the opinion of Lieutenant Governor before signing the Inter-state agreement.

However, the CM of Delhi neither took the opinion nor communicated it to the Lieutenant Governor. The agreement also breaches the oath of secrecy administered to the CM and the ministers.