Advertisement

Updated May 10th, 2021 at 07:32 IST

Prashant Kishor's Punjab role under scanner again; SC issues notice to Amarinder govt

The SC issued a notice to the Punjab government on a plea challenging the appointment of Prashant Kishor as the Principal Advisor to CM Amarinder Singh.

Reported by: Akhil Oka
Prashant Kishor, Punjab
Image: PTI/Representative Image | Image:self
Advertisement

In a key development, the Supreme Court issued a notice to the Punjab government on a plea challenging the appointment of Prashant Kishor as the Principal Advisor to CM Amarinder Singh. A division bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul and Hemant Gupta was hearing a plea against the Punjab & Haryana High Court's order whereby a similar prayer was dismissed. Maintaining that the CM has "complete authority" to choose his advisors, the HC held that there was no violation of constitutional and statutory provisions in this appointment.

While dismissing the plea, it observed that petitioners Labh Singh and Satinder Singh had no locus to challenge the appointment.  Conceding that the government may have an advisor with any particular expertise for governance purposes, the counsel for the petitioners argued in the SC that it is not permissible for the poll strategist to be accorded Cabinet rank at the cost of public money. Kishor's Indian Political Action Committee played a pivotal role in the victory of the Mamata Banerjee-led TMC and DMK in the recently concluded Assembly polls. 

Kishor's Punjab role

On March 1, Punjab CM Amarinder Singh announced that poll strategist Prashant Kishor has joined as his principal advisor. Singh stated that they would work together for the betterment of the people of Punjab. His term of appointment will be co-terminus with Singh's tenure and will be paid an honorarium of Rs.1. The IPAC founder shall be provided one private secretary, one personal assistant, one data entry operator, one clerk, two peons, a free fully furnished government residence and a camp office as admissible to a Cabinet Minister.

Moreover, the state government will reimburse all his mobile phone expenses. Kishor will be entitled to conveyance allowance, Executive Class travel in Train/Air and hospitality expenditure of Rs.5000 per month. Akin to a Cabinet Minister, he will not only be entitled to medical facilities but also get the reimbursement of medical expenses. Incidentally, Kishor joining hands with Congress for the 2022 state Assembly polls comes months after he turned down Singh's offer in this regard.

In June 2020, both Punjab Congress president Sunil Jakhar and Congress' state affairs in-charge Asha Kumari reportedly made it clear that the election strategist was not needed for the next Assembly polls. However, Amarinder Singh justified the move by highlighting that party president Sonia Gandhi had empowered him to take a decision. Additionally, he revealed that 55 Congress MLAs were in favour of bringing back Kishor to handle the campaign. This appointment has drawn the ire of AAP, BJP as well as SAD. 

Advertisement

Published May 10th, 2021 at 07:32 IST

Your Voice. Now Direct.

Send us your views, we’ll publish them. This section is moderated.

Advertisement
Advertisement

Trending Quicks

Dk Shivakumar and Sadananda Gowda
a few seconds ago
Miffed Eshwarappa Likely to Skip PM Modi's Mega Shivamogga Event Today in Karnataka
3 minutes ago
4 Maoists Killed in Encounter With Security Forces in Maharashtra's Gadchiroli
11 minutes ago
H-1B visa registration
12 minutes ago
Uber
13 minutes ago
Ashok Leyland
17 minutes ago
India News LIVE
23 minutes ago
Kylian Mbappe
36 minutes ago
What Are Sheet Masks? Know Its Uses And Benefits
39 minutes ago
Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement
Whatsapp logo