As Punjab Advocate-General Anmol Rattan Sidhu resigned from his post, the opposition cornered the Aam Aadmi Party-led (AAP) government as being run by the party’s high command in Delhi through “remote control”.
Mr. Sidhu, who was appointed as the Advocate-General in March earlier this year, after the AAP came to power in the State, tendered his resignation to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on July 19. Mr. Sidhu said he was resigning due to personal reasons.
The Advocate-General’s resignation reignited the debate on influence emanating from Delhi over the party’s government in Punjab. Earlier in the month, Punjab Director General of Police (DGP) V.K. Bhawra sought Central deputation and then proceeded on a two-month leave. The government then gave Gaurav Yadav an additional charge as the State’s police chief. The government also appointed Vijay Kumar Janjua as the new Chief Secretary of the State, replacing Anirudh Tewari earlier this month.
Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) leader and former Minister Daljit Singh Cheema said the way three top officials in the State had either quit or been replaced in a short span of time showed that senior officers in Punjab were feeling suffocated as the government was being run by the party’s high command in Delhi. “Orders are being given from Delhi, which the officers in Punjab find difficult to implement and hence such a scenario has developed,” Mr. Cheema alleged.
Senior BJP leader Sunil Jakhar said it seemed that the Bhagwant Mann-led government was “going” the same way as the previous Charanjit Singh Channi-led Congress government. “Striking similarities — then also, first the DGP was removed and later the A-G (Advocate-General). The same script is being followed now, only the characters have changed. Earlier, the puppeteer was Congress party’s Harish Rawat and now it’s AAP’s, Raghav Chadha. In any case, Punjab suffers,” he said.
“The sudden change of Punjab A-G (Advocate-General) once again confirms that the Bhagwant Mann-led government is not only directionless and unstable but also, it’s being run through remote control and not by the Chief Minister,” Congress MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira hit out at the AAP.
