BJP against Sawhney's appointment as parl secy

The BJP took exception to the appointment of Congress MLA Prahlad Singh Sawhney as parliamentary secretary to chief minister Sheila Dikshit, dubbing it as “unconstitutional and illegal appointments”. 

Sawhney was administered oath of office by Dikshit in a simple ceremony at the Delhi Secretariat on Wednesday.

Leader of opposition in the Delhi Assembly Vijay Kumar Malhotra said illegitimate facilities were being provided by Dikshit to all her MLAs by either appointing them parliamentary secretaries, chairman of various boards or of district development committees.

“As per the constitutional norms, not more than seven ministers can be appointed in the Delhi government but ignoring them, almost all Congress MLAs are getting the facilities at par with the ministers,” said Malhotra.

“It is not only illegal but also a misuse of public funds for political gains,” he said.
 Malhotra appealed to the Lieutenant Governor Tejendra Khanna to immediately stop these “unconstitutional and illegal appointments”.

Sawhney was first elected to the Vidhan Sabha from Chandni Chowk constituency as a Congress candidate in 1998. He made a comeback in 2003 and 2008. He has been an active legislator and prior to being elected to the Assembly, he was a municipal councillor.