AAP govt again on the line of fire as top law officer resigns

Chandigarh: Aam Aadmi Party government in Punjab has again come under the line of fire from opposition after state Advocate General (AG) Anmol Rattan Sidhu resigned from the post within just four months of assuming charge. He is the fourth AG to leave the office in the past eight months.

While Sidhu cited “personal” reasons behind his resignation, his close aides blamed it on the lack of coordination between AG and Chief Minister Office. Both the AG and the AAP government headed by Bhagwant Mann had differences over the appointment of law officers and other important matters, sources indicated.

While Sidhu did not pick calls despite repeated attempts, opposition blamed it on interference of AAP’s Delhi leadership and chief minister Bhagwant Mann’s inapt handling of the state affairs.

Former AAP leader and now Congress MLA Sukhpal Khaira in a tweet said that sudden change in AG office once again confirmed that Bhagwant Mann government is not only directionless and unstable but also its being run through remote control (from Delhi) and not by CM himself.

The sudden change of AG PB once again confirms that @BhagwantMann govt is not only directionless & unstable but also its being run through remote control and not by the Cm-khaira

— Sukhpal Singh Khaira (@SukhpalKhaira) July 26, 2022

Pritpal Singh Baliawal, spokesperson of Punjab Lok Congress, a party floated by former Congress chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh, said in a statement that first Punjab DGP VK Bhawara voluntarily asked for the central deputation and now AG Sidhu resigned from the post.

“Does the top administrative brass not like the Mann government or are they fed up with Delhi interference,” Baliawal.

The matter meanwhile came into limelight after Sidhu himself released his resignation letter through his tweet on Tuesday afternoon.

Most humbly, submitting my resignation from the post of Advocate General of the State of Punjab.



Thankful to Hon’ble the Chief Minister @BhagwantMann ji, @ArvindKejriwal ji, @raghav_chadha ji and above all the people for this opportunity to serve the State. pic.twitter.com/gBQQrFXPcX

— Dr Anmol Rattan Sidhu (@AnmolRattanSid1) July 26, 2022

His resignation letter was dated July 19, 2022, which means that it was a week since he had resigned from the post. Sources said that he made his resignation public today on Tuesday only to put pressure on the Mann government to accept his resignation.

Responding to the allegations, AAP Punjab Spokesperson Malvinder Kang told NewsDrum that Sidhu saab had resigned due to personal reasons. He was doing exceptionally good work but could not continue because of his own compulsions.

He said AAP govt respects his decision, therefore chief minister Bhagwant Mann accepted his resignation and wished him well.

As far as opposition is concerned, they have no agenda. Their accusations are merely political agenda having no substanace, he added.

Meanwhile, media reports suggest that senior Advocate and criminal lawyer Vinod Ghai is said to replace Sidhu soon.

But his resignation has highlighted constant changes in the important law office of the state government, which otherwise is meant to defend the state’s policies and decisions in various courts of the country.

Atul Nanda, who was AG during previous Captain Amarinder Singh government, spent close to four years in the office before he resigned from the office following the unceremonious exit of Captain last September.

Nanda was then replaced by APS Deol during the tenure of Captain’s successor, Charanjit Singh Channi. But Deol stepped down within a month of his appointment after the then Congress state chief Navjot Singh Sidhu opposed his appointment tooth and nail.

DS Patwalia, who was close to Sidhu, was then assumed the AG charge. He too had a short third of four months after Congress lost the election followed by his resignation a day after election results on March 11 this year.

Patwalia was then succeeded by Anmol Rattan Sidhu, who was believed to have good ties with Bhagwant Mann and other leaders of AAP. Both sides however could not get along very well, which is said to have resulted in Sidhu's resignation.