Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann appointed AAP MP Raghav Chadha as the Chairman of Advisory Committee to the state government.
Chadha, a Rajya Sabha MP, will oversee the “conception and implementation of pro-people initiatives of the AAP government in Punjab and advise the government on matters of finance accordingly, the Chief Minister’s Office said in a statement.
The statement further said that Chadha is a Chartered Accountant and worked with some of the biggest corporate firms of the world. He has also served as Financial Advisor to Delhi Finance Minister Manish Sisodia.
“His strenuous efforts helped in making Delhi a Revenue surplus state and thereby putting it on the trajectory of high economic growth,” the statement read, adding that he would be an asset to a debt-riddden state like Punjab.
The decision evoked sharp reactions from the opposition, which reiterated its charges that the Mann-led government is remote-controlled from Delhi.
Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring hit out at the state government, accusing the Chief Minister 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,” said Warring in a tweet.
The Shiromani Akali Dal also took a swipe at the decision and said in a tweet, “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 naked the toothless tigers whom Pbis had placed their trust in,” the party added.
The Chief Minister’s Office, in its statement, also said that Chadha has his roots in Punjab as he belongs to Jalandhar.
“Hailing from Jalandhar, as his family moved to Delhi for work opportunities a few decades ago, Raghav Chadha had 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 statement said.
