CHANDIGARH: The Punjab government on Monday appointed Aam Aadmi Party MP Raghav Chadha as the chairman of a temporary advisory panel -- a move that has evoked sharp reaction from the opposition parties.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann cleared the file regarding Chadha's appointment as chairman of the advisory committee on Monday, said a spokesperson of the Chief Minister's Office (CMO).
Rajya Sabha member Chadha, who is a chartered accountant by profession, is expected to play an essential role in financial planning and making Punjab a debt-free state, said the spokesperson.
In a new role, 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 related to finance.
The AAP-led government had notified the committee a few days ago to much scepticism of the opposition parties, which questioned its legality.
The temporary committee headed by a chairman and run-through members will not be entitled to any compensation, remuneration, or perks, according to the notification.
Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring on Monday slammed the Bhagwant Mann-led government, accusing him of ceding too much power to Chadha through the committee.
Warring said appointing Chadha as chairman of the advisory panel is tantamount to making him the chief minister of Punjab.
"Punjabis did not vote for this change. It seems @BhagwantMann ji has handed over the Punjab government on contract," Warring said in a tweet.
Congress leader and Leader of Opposition in the Punjab Assembly Partap Singh Bajwa criticised the state government for appointing Chadha as the chairman of the advisory committee.
"Like Sir Henry Lawrence foisted as the British Resident in Punjab in 1846 to control the Sikh Empire for an outsider, Raghav Chadha today has been appointed as the representative of the @AAPDelhi Durbaar in Punjab," Bajwa said in a tweet.
"This move is nothing more than circumventing the peoples will and choice in Punjab and making the State a colonial outpost of @ArvindKejriwal ji. Absolutely uncalled for!" he said.
The Shiromani Akali Dal also took a dig at the AAP-led government, saying the move put the "show manager Raghav Chadha formally on stage."
"The Puppeteer, the puppet and puppetry. The Circus Master removes the curtain, putting the show manager @raghav_chadha formally on stage."
"De facto CM Chadha taking over formally as Controller General is no news for Pbis. They always knew who pulls the strings in @BhagwantMann puppet dance. Now even the fig leaf of an elected govt is removed, striping (sic) naked the toothless tigers whom Pbis had placed their trust in," said the party in a tweet.
The Amarinder Singh-led Punjab Lok Congress said, "Today Bhagwant Mann has reaffirmed his rubberstamp status by appointing @raghav_chadha as the Chairman of the advisory committee and making him the De facto CM."
Meanwhile, the CMO spokesperson said that as an alumnus of top educational institutes like Modern School, Barakhamba, and London School of Economics, Chadha has a distinction of working with some of the biggest corporate firms of the world.
"The young political leader had earlier served as financial advisor to Delhi Finance Minister Manish Sisodia in the Aam Aadmi Party government. Though he drew a nominal salary of only Re 1 from Delhi government, he is credited with plugging the pilferage of the revenue and cutting down corruption," he said.
"His strenuous efforts helped make Delhi a revenue surplus state and thereby putting it on the trajectory of high economic growth."
Chadha, who originally hails from Jalandhar and has lived in Delhi since his parents moved there few decades ago in search of work, has "remained firmly connected with his roots and acted as a catalyst in revamping Delhi's Punjabi Academy thereby promoting the Punjabi language and culture in the national capital" the spokesperson said.