CHANDIGARH: Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and his deputy Sukhbir Singh Badal have eight advisors and two assistant advisors. These officials enjoy the rank and perks of state ministers and c h i e f p a rl i a m e n t a r y secretaries. While the Punjab CM has Kamal Oswal, MD of Nahar Industrial Enterprises, to get advice on industries, senior Akali leader Maheshinder Singh Grewal advises him on routine affairs. BJP leader Tikshan Sood is political advisor, Harcharan Bains is media and national affairs advisor and Lt Gen (Retd) B S Dhaliwal is technical advisor to the CM. BJP leader Vineet Joshi is assistant media advisor to state government.
The deputy CM also has a group of advisors and OSDs. His media advisor is Jangveer Singh and Paramjit Singh Sidhwan is political advisor. Manjinder Singh Sirsa, general secretary of the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee, also advises him. The advisors sit in a wellfurnished of f ice in the Secretariat. In neighbouring Haryana, Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar also has a team of advisers and OSDs. Jagdish Chopra is his political advisor, Dhruv Majumdar advises on IT-related matters, Yogender Malik on Beti Bachao Beti Padhao project and Amit Araya is media advisor. Other than having Deepak Mangla as political secretary, Khattar also has five OSDs, who have offices, staff, vehicles and official residences. Neeraj Daftuar, Khattar’s OSD, , takes `1 per month as pay. The Haryana government has sought the services of DANIPS officer Rajneesh Garg, who is posted as a DCP in Delhi Police.
On the other hand, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister VirbhadraSingh has only two advisors. While T G Negi, a retired IAS officer, is principal advisor, Rangeela Ram Rao is advisor to the CM. Singh also has two OSDs, T C Janartha and Amit Pal Singh.