Sacked AAP adviser Raghav Chadha refunds Rs 2.5 salary to home ministry

Aam Aadmi Party leader Raghav Chadha, whose appointment as an advisor to Delhi’s Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia was cancelled after directions from the home ministry, on Wednesday slammed the move as “political vendetta” and said he has returned the Rs 2.50 honorarium he received for his services.

The tussle between the AAP government and the Centre escalated on Tuesday with the cancellation of appointment of nine advisors to Delhi ministers following the Union home ministry’s directions which said these posts were “not sanctioned”.

Hitting out at the Centre, Chadha said at least the home ministry should have realised that his tenure as an adviser had ended in 2016.

Chadha, who is a chartered accountant, was appointed as an advisor to Sisodia from January 16 to March 31, 2016, to “use his talent” in preparation of the budget.

He said his removal, along with eight other advisors including Atishi Marlena, “smacks of political vendetta”.

“On one hand we appoint people like Atishi Marlena, the Bharatiya Janata Party appoints (its spokespersons) Sambit Patra and Shazia Ilmi on board of PSUS,” Chadha said.

He said that the reason behind sacking Marlena and other advisors was that the BJP could not match up with the good work done by the Delhi government in the field of education and health.

“While we cannot change what is in the past, please accept enclosed a demand draft of Rs 2.50 in favour of the Ministry of Home Affairs that I earned in my capacity as advisor as a token of my remorse,” Chadha said in the letter he has sent to Home Minister Rajnath Singh.

He said appointment of Amardeep Tiwari, media advisor to law minister, Arunodya Prakash, media advisor to deputy chief minister, had the approval of the then Lt Governor Najeeb Jung.

He, however, did not furnish any document to back his claim.

According to an order issued by the General Administration Department of the Delhi government, the MHA had written in its letter that the posts of advisers are not in the list of posts approved for the ministers and the chief minister of Delhi. Appointment of nine advisers was accordingly cancelled.

AAP’s national spokesperson Dilip Pandey the Centre’s decision is “non serious step” taken because “political arrogance”.