Barely four months after he was appointed Punjab's advocate general (AG) by the Bhagwant Mann-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government, Anmol Rattan Singh Sidhu has resigned from the post, becoming the fourth state AG to quit in the last 10 months. Although Sidhu had tendered his resignation on July 19, CM Mann had refused to accept it, it is learnt. The resignation was finally accepted on Tuesday, a day after the CM discussed it with Sidhu during a one-and-a-half-hour long meeting at his residence. In a two-line resignation letter to the CM, Sidhu cited personal reasons for not being able to continue as the AG, stating that “I am thankful to the party for giving me a chance to represent the office of Advocate General, Punjab. Due to my personal reasons, I won’t be able to serve this prestigious office, therefore, I hereby tender my resignation which may kindly be accepted at the earliest.” 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 Sidhu shared his resignation letter on Twitter Tuesday, stating that “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.” Sources in the government said that Sidhu, who is known to be a team player, was “upset” over an attempt to appoint a few lawyers from Delhi as law officers in the Punjab government's legal department. It is learnt that he had prepared a list of 37 lawyers from Punjab to be appointed as law officers but senior Delhi AAP leaders had struck off a number of names from the list. Sidhu and a senior party leader were said to be at loggerheads on the issue. Recently, stones were hurled at his Shatabdi Express train coach by unidentified people near Panipat while he was returning to Chandigarh from Delhi after appearing in a case against gangster Lawrence Bishnoi in the Supreme Court. A Sidhu-led team had played a key role in getting the custody of Bishnoi in the singer Sidhu Moosewala murder case. AG Sidhu had recently triggered a controversy, with the Punjab government challenging a National Commission for Scheduled Castes (NCSC) order directing it to provide reservation while appointing law officers in the AG's office. Sidhu, in his legal opinion, had stated, “The paramount consideration should be given to the ‘efficiency’ of the law officers, who need to perform before the top court of the state as well as before the apex court. There is no legal necessity for the reservation in the appointment of law officers by the state government.” The AAP government drew flak over it, especially on social media, with various SC organisations demanding his resignation. On Sidhu's resignation, Mann told reporters after landing in Delhi Tuesday that he tried to convince the former to continue in his post. “I had asked him (Sidhu) to review his resignation. But he said he had some personal commitments. He is a senior lawyer, who is our team member. We will continue to utilise his expertise,” he the CM said, adding that his government has now appointed Vinod Ghai as the new AG. Mann said his dispensation wanted an AG with a team that could do away with the need for hiring highly-paid lawyers. Sidhu was working pro bono in his position. He was also known to get local lawyers handle litigations involving the government unlike the situation during the erstwhile Capt Amarinder Singh-led Congress regime when expensive lawyers from Delhi were hired for the purpose. Sidhu, who had on Monday evening denied his resignation, told The Indian Express Tuesday that “It (resignation) was then not accepted, that is why I did not want to say anything about it.” He also said, “I am satisfied with my term. I had a talk with CM on Monday. I have several personal commitments.” On his differences over the list of law officers, Sidhu claimed, “There is nothing about the list. The list will be out the way CM would want it. New AG will also see. All respect to my CM… We have handled many cases well.” Sidhu was appointed by the AAP government after it stormed to power in Punjab in March after sweeping the Assembly polls. His predecessor DS Patwalia was appointed by the previous Charanjit Singh Channi-led Congress government after then state Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu batted for him. Channi had earlier appointed A P S Deol as the AG, but Navjot pressured Channi to replace him with Patwalia. AG Sidhu’s resignation, which came barely a fortnight after the government removed chief secretary Anirudh Tewari and director general of police VK Bhawra, set off a row, with the Opposition parties flaying the Mann government for allegedly “succumbing” to the “Delhi AAP dispensation's interference” that, it added, was “suffocating” senior state officials. Senior Congress leader and ex-deputy CM Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa said that the exit of three senior state functionaries over the last 20 days was a “precursor of the things to come”. “The bureaucrats are all suffocated as Punjab government has been outsourced to the AAP’s Delhi unit. I am wondering if CM Mann would complete his term or he would also quit midway. After all, he is a Punjabi and Punjabi pride does not allow anyone to be subservient to the outsiders.” Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) spokesperson Daljeet Singh Cheema, in a video statement, alleged that the Mann government was being run in “an illegal way due to interference by Delhi unit of AAP” that was impacting the morale of top state officials. He also charged that the Punjab officials were “finding it difficult to implement the orders issued from Delhi”. “If this is the state of affairs in three months, I wonder how the government would run,” he added. BJP leader Sunil Jakhar tweeted: “It seems @BhagwantMann govt is 'going' - Channi govt way!.In any case, Punjab suffers."
