Chandigarh: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government in Punjab has once again come under attack from the opposition following its decision to appoint Raghav Chadha, Rajya Sabha MP and a close aide of party national convener Arvind Kejriwal, as chairman of its advisory committee.As per the official press note on July 11, Chadha will shoulder the responsibility of “overseeing” the conception and implementation of pro-people initiatives of the AAP government in Punjab and “advise” the government on matters of finance accordingly.The official statement said his “sound financial knowledge and prudence” will be a boon for debt-ridden Punjab, which is currently reeling under an extreme financial crunch. It added that Chadha will play an “essential role” in financial planning and making Punjab debt-free.However, his appointment has already been challenged in Punjab and Haryana high court.Petitioner Jagmohan Singh Bhatti, an advocate by profession, contended that the appointment amounted to forming “a parallel government within the government”.Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and other MLAs on the first day of the State Assembly Session, in Chandigarh, Friday, June 24, 2022. Photo: PTI.He also contended that the chief secretary had no such power to issue a notification regarding the temporary advisory committee. “…bare reading shows that the chief minister is of the view that a body is required to tender advice to the Government of Punjab on matters of public importance,” said the petitioner.Also read: Punjab Govt’s White Paper Points to State’s ‘Economic Morass and Debt Trap’Separately, another advocate Hemant Kumar sent a letter-petition under Article 102 (1) [a person shall be disqualified for being chosen as, and for being, a member of either House of Parliament] and 103(1) [If any question arises as to whether a member of either House of Parliament has become subject to any of the disqualifications, the question shall be referred for the decision of the President and his decision shall be final] of the constitution, seeking Chadha’s disqualification as member of the upper house of the parliament.Kumar claimed that his appointment as the chairman of advisory committee by the Punjab government amounted to holding an “office of profit” by him, making it a case for his disqualification as a member of parliament.A new precedent While the legal tenability of Chadha’s appointment may take time to decide, his posting, however, is the first of its kind in Punjab politics.It is not that past chief ministers did not appoint their favourites as advisors.During the alliance government of Shiromani Akali Dal and Bharatiya Janata Party between 2007 and 2012, the then chief minister Prakash Singh Badal had seven advisers and two officers on special duty (OSDs).His successor Captain Amarinder Singh (2017-21) had as many as five OSDs, three advisers and five secretaries in his chief minister’s office. However, senior journalist and former AAP MLA Kanwar Sandhu told The Wire that the formation of an advisory committee by the AAP government cannot be compared to the appointment of advisors in the previous governments, adding they were “more political in nature to keep the close aides in good humour”.“I am not defending the decision of the previous governments. The posting of these so-called advisers was also a wrong practice and could never be constitutionally justified. But we need to understand that Chadha is not a mere advisor to the chief minister. He is heading a top government panel, which will possibly have direct influence over the functioning of this government, a clear infringement of constitutional norms,” Sandhu added.Also read: Can Punjab AAP Govt Rise Up to Emerging Challenges With No Interference from Delhi Bosses?Sandhu explained that as per the constitution, an elected government is run by a chief minister and his council of ministers. “It is the council [of ministers] that advises the chief minister.”He further added that there are additionally a number of bureaucrats to help and guide ministers and chief ministers. “But Raghav Chadha’s case infringes it.”Sandhu said Chadha would head a committee that will directly advise the chief minister, thereby circumventing the role of his council of ministers.“In fact, the government press note has used words like ‘overseeing’ the conception and implementation of government schemes, which indicates that the panel’s role will be much more than just advising the Bhagwant Mann-led AAP government,” Sandhu added.Past parallelsSeveral political observers in the state believe that the closest example of the newly appointed Chadha panel is the National Advisory Council (NAC) headed by Sonia Gandhi during the United Progressive Alliance government at the national level.Congress interim President Sonia Gandhi addresses party leaders during the party’s Nav Sankalp Chintan Shivir, in Udaipur on May 13, 2022. Photo: PTI.Gandhi, like Chadha, was a member of the parliament, albeit of the lower house (Lok Sabha). She was disqualified as member of parliament as it was proved that she was holding ‘office of profit’.The essence of disqualification under the office of profit doctrine is that if a legislator holds an ‘office of profit’ under the government, they might be susceptible to government influence, and may not discharge their constitutional mandate fairly. The intent is that there should be no conflict between the duties and interests of an elected member.Gandhi was however back as NAC chairman during the second UPA term in 2010 after exemption to her office was granted by amending Parliament (Prevention Of Disqualification) Act, 1959.Advocate Hemant Kumar’s petition to the President of India against Chadha’s disqualification is filed on similar lines.Legal issuesHemant said that the Chadha-led advisory committee was constituted via a Punjab Government notification dated July 6, 2022.The notification defined the committee’s terms of reference as a mere temporary (ad hoc) committee, with no remuneration to either chairman or members.According to him, the terms of references were cleverly put together in order to exempt Chadha from disqualification proceedings as a member of parliament under the ‘office of profit’ doctrine.He said a bare reading of Section 3 (H) of Parliament (Prevention Of Disqualification) Act, 1959, indicated that a member of parliament will not be disqualified if he became the chairman or member of a “temporary” committee for the purpose of advising the Government or any other authority in respect of any matter of “public importance” or for the purpose of making an inquiry into, or collecting statistics in respect of, any such matter.Now the question arises if the Office of Chairman of Chadha Committee under the Government of Punjab would fall within the purview of Section 3(h) of the aforementioned 1959 Act.Hemant responded that when one thoroughly peruses the Punjab government notification – although it terms such constituted committee as temporary and ad-hoc – it does not specify the tenure of such committee.“It mentions that it will serve at the pleasure of the chief minister of Punjab. Hence, one wonders if such a committee would indeed be temporary in nature or else it would be co-terminus till the tenure of the incumbent Punjab government, which has come to power only four months ago in the month of March 2022,” said Hemant.Political reasons behind Chadha’s panelSome political observers feel that the Chadha-led committee may be the outcome of the uneasiness in the party’s central leadership on the way Punjab is being run right now.In the past four months of the Mann government, the party has faced severe criticism on law and order, the Moosewala murder, besides the latest flip flop on the textile project in Mattewara forest.Also read: As Gangs Thrive in Punjab’s Underbelly, Mann’s AAP Govt Has a Serious Task at HandThe party was rattled by the recent by-poll election defeat in chief minister Bhagwant Mann’s own bastion in Sangrur. There is acute pressure on AAP to deliver in Punjab so that it can use Punjab’s performance to expand in other states.File photo. Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann speak to media personnel during their visit to Gandhi Ashram, in Ahmedabad, Saturday, April 2, 2022. Photo: PTITherefore, the Chadha committee could be a damage control exercise from the party’s perspective.But the committee formation has already sharpened the opposition’s charge that Mann is just a “rubber stamp chief minister” in the AAP government as it is the party leadership, which is calling the shots, a charge that AAP has vehemently denied time and again.Chadha, a close aide of AAP national convener and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, has been a Delhi-based leader in decade long political journey with AAP so far.His association with Punjab started just a year before the Punjab polls, when he was made co-incharge of Punjab affairs.Later when AAP won the Punjab polls, he had a meteoric rise. First, the party nominated him to the upper house from Punjab before making him chairman of the top advisory body of the state government.But what is at stake is political messaging. There is a section of voters in Punjab who don’t like the undue influence of the central leadership of political parties calling shots in Punjab.This may be neutralised if the Chadha committee survives the legal hurdle and performs while not disturbing the balance of power within the government, which is a daunting task.Meanwhile, the party is defending Chadha’s appointment as a “hallmark step”.AAP Punjab spokesperson Malvinder Kang recently told the media that Raghav Chadha is an experienced and well-qualified leader. Being a chartered accountant by profession and alumni of the London School of Economics, he will help the Mann government to deliver the party’s pre-poll promises, added Kang.
