Chandigarh – Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa writes letter to Governor Punjab Banwari Lal Purohit regarding violation of oath of secrecy by the officers of Punjab.He writes :-
”You would very kindly recall that the move of the Delhi Government to superimpose Shri Raghav Chadha, Member of Rajya Sabha, as Chairman of the Adhoc Advisory Committee not only attracted public outcry against the same but also was thwarted by the intervention of the Hon’ble Punjab & Haryana High Court through a challenge in the writ jurisdiction.
Now, a startling revelation on social media titled “Kejriwal’s mole controls Punjab Government, by the Punjab Dastavej website, has been made regarding parallel administrative set up of the Aam Aadmi Party in all Departments of the state government. The video-clips confirm the presence of a non-appointee of the Government, namely, Naval Aggarwal, in almost every meeting being chaired by the Chief Secretary with the State Intelligence Chief as well as the other top-brass of the administration. It constitutes violation of the oath of secrecy by the officers and rendering them liable to be proceeded against for breach of oath of secrecy. Even, the minister concerned cannot escape vicarious accountability for the unconstitutional conduct of his officers. It has also been confirmed that Mr. Aggarwal, a non-appointee, is occupying Room No.5 on the 8th Floor in the Punjab Civil Secretariat, Chandigarh, officially allotted in the name of Shri Raghav Chadha, MP Rajya Sabha.
Mr. Naval Aggarwal is purportedly heading the Punjab Good-Governance Fellowship Programme with the support of 50 members for a term extending from 18-24 months. All the Fellows working under the said Fellowship Programme have been deployed in all departments at the State as well as district level, to monitor implementation of the decisions at the district level under the ultimate control of Mr. Raghav Chadha through Mr. Aggarwal.
Under the established law, the oath of office insisted upon under the Constitution is the prescription of a fundamental code of conduct in the discharge of the duties of these high offices. The oath binds the person throughout his tenure in that office, and he extricates himself from the bonds of the oath only when he frees himself from the office he holds. It has been further held by the Courts that breach of this fundamental conduct of good behaviour may result in the deprivation of the very office he holds.
In the past also, the decision to withdraw/slash the security cover of 424 VIPs was made public on 28th May, 2022. Shockingly, the very next day, Shubhdeep Singh Sidhu, popularly known as Sidhu Moosewala, was shot dead in Punjab’s Mansa district on May 29. Till date, it has not come on record by whom and at whose instance the names of such protectees were made public. The rising graph of killings and deteriorating law and order situation in Punjab is the outcome of non-adherence to the constitutionally established practices of the Government.
As such, the unauthorised presence of a non-appointee of the Government in the meetings attended by Secretaries of the Departments, being chaired by the Chief Secretary, is seriously trampling the sensitive decision-making ecosystem in the Government. It is fraught with perils both to the security as well as the economy of the State, which needs to be curbed strongly. Apart from it, the unauthroised presence of Mr. Naval Aggarwal in the official meetings held by the Chief Secretary, without appointment on any post, makes him liable to be proceeded against under the penal provisions of law.
I would, therefore, request you to please take strict note of the breach of oath of office by the officers and vicariously, by the Chief Minister and his colleagues, allowing the unauthorised participation of an individual not holding any responsible post in the Government records and proceed against them as per the constitutional mandate.”
Yours sincerely,
(PARTAP SINGH BAJWA)
SHRI BANWARI LAL JI PUROHIT,
Hon’ble Governor of Punjab,
CHANDIGARH.
