Punjab's New Advocate General Shows Gap Between AAP in Power & AAP in Opposition

As a lawyer, Vinod Ghai has represented those accused in the 2015 Bargari sacrilege and Behbal Kalan firing.

(Bhagwant Mann's government is facing flak over Anmol Rattan Sidhu's resignation and Vinod Ghai's appointment as Punjab's Advocate General)

(Namita Chauhan/The Quint)

The ruling Aam Aadmi Party in Punjab is facing flak over the appointment of Vinod Ghai as the state's new Advocate General. Ghai's appointment was announced on 26 July, soon after Anmol Rattan Sidhu resigned as Advocate General.

Sidhu was appointed by the Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann soon after he assumed charge four months ago.

Responding to Sidhu's resignation, Punjab Congress chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring termed the change of Advocate General as a "perfect recipe for uncertainty and instability".

(Punjab Congress president Raja Warring has criticised the AAP government)

(@RajaBrar_INC/Twitter)

Why Vinod Ghai's Appointment is Being Opposed

The strongest opposition to Ghai's appointment has come from Sikh organisations and institutions.

"You should know who Vinod Ghai is. He is the same person who defended (in court) people like Gurmeet Ram Rahi, Dera Sacha Sauda and those behind the Bargari sacrilege case, the Behbal Kalan firing and the Kotkapura firing,"

Baljit Singh Daduwal, president of the Haryana Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee

"CM Bhagwant Mann and Super CM (Arvind) Kejriwal had promised that they would provide justice in the sacrilege cases. This is the way they are going about it? By appointing the lawyer who defended the accused?" Daduwal added.

Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee chief Harmeet Singh Kalka said that Ghai's appointment was a "conspiracy to protect the accused in the sacrilege case".

The 2015 sacrilege incidents at Bargari in Faridkot district and the subsequent killing of two protesters in police firing at Behbal Kalan and Kotkapura has been one of the most central political issues in Punjab for the past seven years. The sacrilege was alleged to be the handiwork of Dera Sacha Sauda supporters.

As all this happened under the watch of the then Shiromani Akali Dal (Badal)-BJP regime and their handpicked police chief Sumedh Saini, the Badals lost a great deal of support due to it.

The Congress, too, faced flak for the delay in punishing those behind the sacrilege incidents as well as the killings.

AAP Accused of Double Standards

During the election campaign, AAP had promised prompt action in the Bargari, Kotkapura and Behbal Kalan cases. The SAD's alleged involvement and the Congress' alleged inefficiency in punishing them had delegitimised both parties on the issue. This opened the space for hardline Sikh leaders like Simranjit Singh Mann but the main electoral beneficiary of the issue in the Assembly polls was AAP.

During the elections, AAP also gained from the fact that it had in its ranks Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh, the police officer who led the probe into the incidents.

However, it is perceived that he has been sidelined ever since AAP came to power in Punjab.

Regarding Ghai, AAP's explanation is that he is a competent advocate and he should be judged based on his ability. Some say there may be a point here as lawyers are doing their job and shouldn't be associated with the alleged crimes of their clients. For instance, BJP leader Arun Jaitley represented Congress leader PJ Kurian in the Suryanelli rape case, without his political integrity being questioned.

But the problem for AAP is the stand it had taken previously.

When the Charanjit Singh Channi led Congress government appointed APS Deol as the Advocate General, AAP leader and then Leader of the Opposition Harpal Singh Cheema had termed it a conspiracy to protect those guilty of sacrilege against the Guru Granth Sahib.

This was because Deol was earlier the counsel for cops Sumedh Saini and Paramraj Singh Umranangal, both accused in the Behbal Kalan case.

Deol was eventually removed due to pressure from the then Punjab Congress chief Navjot Singh Sidhu over the Channi regime.

The criticism of the AAP government on Ghai's appointment must be seen in the larger context of the political challenges it is facing. Due a number of developments, a perception has been created that Bhagwant Mann doesn't have complete control over the government and that undue influence is being exerted by AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal and Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha, recently appointed as chairman of an advisory council to the Punjab government.

Sikh organisations in particular have been critical of the government and the churn in this space was evident from AAP's defeat at the hands of Simranjit Singh Mann in the bypoll to the Sangrur Lok Sabha seat vacated by CM Bhagwant Mann.

Perhaps some concrete action on the sacrilege and police firing cases may be the only way for the government to address its critics. But given the dramatic attrition at the post of Punjab's top legal officer - the state has seen 5 Advocate generals in less than a year - any legal action on these crucial cases is no easy task.