SAD calls for review of all cabinet decisions following setting aside of Suresh Kumar’s appointment.
The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) today while welcoming the Punjab and Haryana high court’s decision to set aside the appointment of the chief minister’s chief principal secretary Suresh Kumar, said the decision had put a question mark on all cabinet decisions as the officers presence in the cabinet meetings was illegal. In a statement here, former minister and SAD spokesman Dr Daljit Singh Cheema said the very fact that the officer had knowledge of all cabinet decisions and even had a role in influencing them had made the said decisions illegal. “All these decisions should be reviewed now”, he added. The Akali leader the credibility of the Congress government had hit an all time low with the pronouncement of this judgement. "The very fact that its appointments are being struck down by the courts speak volumes about its functioning". He said the Congress government should also tell Punjabis why it was indulging in constitutional violations. “Despite objections from all right thinking quarters that a retired officer like Mr Suresh Kumar could not enjoy the powers of a cadre officer, the government bulldozed all opposition and appointed him to the post of chief principal secretary and gave him the pay scale of a Union cabinet secretary. This was unprecedented in the history of the State and has been rightly struck down. Now the government should review all decisions taken by the officer immediately. The chief minister’s office should also be reconstituted immediately as per constitutional norms”, he added.
