Ruchika M Khanna
Chandigarh, August 31
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has started the exercise to “adjust” its party leaders as chairmen of various boards and corporations of Punjab. The first set of appointments was made today, wherein the party seems to have rewarded loyalty.
As many as 14 leaders have been appointed as chairman to the various boards and corporations. Though some political leaders, who had quit the party to join the AAP in the run up to the Assembly elections, have been accommodated, mostly those who worked for the party since its nascent stage in the state have been appointed to these posts.
Most of the persons appointed today have been credited for leading the party to victory in the Vidhan Sabha elections, while some are also the in-charges of the Lok Sabha seats. A few of them even contested the elections (unsuccessfully) on the party ticket.
However, none of the 78 party MLAs (other than the 14 in the Council of Ministers) can be appointed on these posts as these are considered offices of profit. Other than cooperatives like Milkfed and Markfed, where MLAs can be accommodated as these are elected posts, in all other boards and corporations, the MLAs cannot be accommodated.
Interestingly, the AAP, before the elections, had been critical of the traditional parties for appointing political persons as chairmen and vice-chairmen of around 60 such boards and corporations, including 38 public sector undertakings. Sources say that even now Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has made it clear that only 50 per cent of these bodies will get the chairmen, vice-chairmen and members (government can nominate members in place of three officials who act as members).
It is learnt that the second set of appointments will be made in the Punjab Mandi Board, Markfed, Punjab State Farmers and Farm Labourers Commission and in the state cooperative bank. The names are to be decided at a meeting of party leaders and the Chief Minister scheduled for later this week, it is learnt.
Finance Minister Harpal Cheema said the government was committed not to adjust its leaders. “But for some boards and corporations, where we are running our flagship programmes, a political handholding is required to oversee the development programmes through,” he added.
14 make the cut in first list
Those who joined AAP from Congress
Raman Behal
(Punjab Health System Corporation)
Inderjit Mann
(Punjab Khadi amp; Village Ind Board)
Vibhuti Sharma
(Punjab Tourism Dev Corporation)
Old party workers
Dr Sunny Ahluwalia (Punjab Water Supply amp; Sewerage Board)
Narinder Shergil (Milkfed)
Ranjit Cheema (Punjab Water Resources Management Corporation)
Ashok Kumar Singla (Punjab Gau Sewa Commission)
Anil Thakur (Pb Traders Board)
Gurdev Singh Lakkana (Pb State Warehousing Corpn)
Mohinder Sidhu (Punjab State Seeds Corporation)
Suresh Goyal (Punjab State Coop Agricultural Dev Bank)
Navdeep Jeeda (Sugarfed)
Balbir Singh Pannu (Punsup)
Rakesh Puri (State Forest Development Corporation)
Onkar Singh is OSD to CM
Dr Onkar Singh, a close friend of CM Bhagwant Mann and in-charge of the Dhuri Assembly segment, has been appointed as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to the CM. The terms and conditions of his appointment are yet to be finalised.