AAP ‘endorsed’ Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi’s son for post of State Information Commission

Vishav Bharti

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, November 7

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has been making a hue and cry about nepotism in politics, but Leader of Opposition Harpal Singh Cheema ended up supporting it when it came to appointment of Cabinet Minister Rana Gurmit Singh Sodhi’s son Anumit Sodhi for the post of State Information Commissioner.

Cheema, along with Chief Minister Capt Amarinder Singh and Cabinet Minister Sadhu Singh Dharamsot, was member of the three-member committee which gave a go-ahead to the appointment.

The State Information Commission (SIC) has to be appointed by the Governor on the basis of recommendations by the committee. The Leader of Opposition is made part of the committee so that government doesn’t indulge in any kind of nepotism or favourtism.

Last month, when Anumit Sodhi and Maninder Singh Patti, an aide of Housing and Urban Development Minister Sukhbinder Singh Sarkaria, were appointed to the commission, the state government had drawn flak from the media and the Opposition, including AAP.

Even AAP MLA from Sunam Aman Arora had flayed the decision and said the government which promised ‘ghar-ghar rozgar’ is only giving jobs to children of its own ministers. Arora said he was not aware of the fact that Cheema gave consent to the ‘controversial’ appointment. He agreed that his party’s principles are against this. “I will take up the matter at appropriate platform of the party,” he said. AAP state president Bhagwant Mann was not available for comments.