As the top whip of the party in power, Aam Aadmi Party MLA Baljinder Kaur, who is serving her second term as representative for the Talwandi Sabo district, will soon be promoted to the status of a cabinet minister in the government of the state of Punjab.
At a Cabinet meeting that took place on Monday here in this location, a decision was made to this effect. In light of this, the Punjab Council of Ministers has given its approval to the legislation of “The Salaries and Allowances of the Chief Whip in Punjab Legislative Assembly Act, 2022.” This act will take effect in 2022.
According to sources, the proposed legislation, which is scheduled to be introduced into the Vidhan Sabha during the subsequent session, would make the salary and emoluments of the chief whip comparable to those of a minister and would also include provisions exempting the position from being considered an “office of profit.”
The action may not only appease Baljinder Kaur, given that she had previously voiced her public anger about being denied a ministerial slot when the AAP government was founded, but it also implies that she would no longer be considered for a position in the Cabinet anytime there is an extension of the current one. As there are already three open positions in the Bhagwant Mann cabinet, there has already been speculation about the possibility of an expansion as well as a reorganization of the portfolios.
The MLA received recognition from the party’s senior brass at the AAP national executive meeting earlier this year, which was held around the same time that the MLA’s “marriage strife” was made public, indicating that her “political adjustment” was inevitable.
The chief whip of the governing party has already been awarded a Cabinet or Minister of State level in numerous other states, according to a senior official in the state administration who spoke to The Tribune. The chief whip, he added, “plays a fundamental role in parliamentary democracy and guarantees smooth operation of the House.”
It is known that the Punjab Legal Remembrancer approved this bill because a new law on the issue required to be established and passed, among other things.
The state legislature is qualified to pass the proposed law since the matter is connected to Article 195 of the Constitution (read with entry 38 of the State List contained in the Seventh Schedule).
After being approved by the state legislature, the bill does not need to be held back for the president’s approval since the governor is qualified to do so. The proposed legislative measure’s contents are not at odds with those of the Constitution, notably those that deal with basic rights.
