Express News Service
CHANDIGARH: Senior advocate Deepinder Singh Patwalia, considered close to Punjab Congress president Navjot Singh Sidhu, is likely to be appointed as the new advocate general of Punjab. But the controversy over the post is not over even after APS Deol’s exit.
Former state Congress chief Sunil Jakhar took a dig at his own government on Wednesday over the issue while Anandpur Sahib MP Manish Tewari had a word of advice for the government and the new appointee.Hitting out at Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi over Deol’s removal under relentless pressure from Sidhu, Jakhar tweeted, “The ouster of a competent yet ‘allegedly’ compromised officer has exposed a ‘really’ compromised CM. Giving rise to a pertinent question- Whose government is it Anyway? (*Apologies to BBC’s radio drama – Whose line is it Anyway)”
Tewari, meanwhile, citing Bar Council of India rules, cautioned that “politicising AG’s office undermines the integrity of Constitutional functionaries”. Both the previous AGs of Punjab became “punching bags in proxy political wars”, he tweeted, adding, “Those who subvert the institution of AG’s office need to remember a lawyer is neither wedded to a client or a brief”.
In another late development, senior advocate Mukesh Berry tendered his resignation, two days after his appointment as Punjab’s additional advocate general. He has asked the state government ‘not to ridicule and diminish the status of senior advocates’. Berry was appointed as additional advocate general on Monday.
AAP struggles with infighting in PunjabThe Aam Aadmi Party in Punjab remains in a state of disarray despite Assembly elections being just a few months away. Due to the constant infighting, the party is struggling to save its sinking ship with several leaders quitting, the latest being Bathinda Rural (Reserved) legislator Rupinder Kaur Ruby who joined the Congress on Wednesday in the presence of Channi and Sidhu. So far, five Aam Aadmi Party MLAs including Ruby joined the Congress while one was disqualified from the assembly and another party legislator quit politics for good.
