Opposition party in Punjab, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), today demanded a review of Cabinet decisions taken by the state government in the wake of the Punjab and Haryana high court setting aside the appointment of the chief principal secretary.
Hailing the court’s decision to set aside the appointment of Suresh Kumar, the Chief Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Amarinder Singh, the SAD said the development put a question mark on all Cabinet decisions as the officer’s presence in the Cabinet meetings was allegedly “illegal”.
In a statement issued here, former minister and SAD spokesman Daljit Singh Cheema said the officer had knowledge of all Cabinet decisions and even had a role in “influencing” them. “All these cabinet decisions should be reviewed now,” he demanded.
The Akali leader alleged that the credibility of the Congress government had hit “an all time low” with the pronouncement of the high court order. “The very fact that its appointments are being struck down by the courts speak volumes about its functioning,” he said.
The government should review all decisions taken by the officer and the chief minster’s office should also be reconstituted as per Constitutional norms, Cheema added.
The Punjab and Haryana high court passed an order today setting aside the appointment of retired IAS officer Suresh Kumar.
Justice Rajan Gupta, while pronouncing the order, found the retired bureaucrat was holding public office “without the authority of law”.
Kumar, considered close to Singh, was appointed after the Congress came to power in the state last March. The post of chief principal secretary was specially created for the retired IAS officer.
PTI
