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Relatives become personal assistants to Punjab MLAs Bathinda, November 18 In Pathankot’s Bhoa constituency, MLA Seema Devi has appointed her husband Vinod Kumar as her PA. Vinod Kumar says not only is there a lack of dedicated people but in many cases, people so appointed have become a cause of embarrassment for MLAs. “I am not employed anywhere else and don’t feel embarrassing to work for my wife as her PA,” he said.
“My PAs kept changing in the past and I had to repeatedly get their names changed in the Vidhan Sabha secretariat records. To avoid this, my husband has been enlisted as my PA, but the salary is passed on to the functional PA,” she said. Information gathered by The Tribune under the RTI Act suggests over 10 Punjab MLA have appointed either their kin or close relatives as their PAs. The job of a PA to an MLA is considered crucial as it involves handling most of the official and personal file work. While in some cases spouses or relatives are appointed to the post for confidentiality, in other it is to pocket the salary. Congress MLA from Bhadaur and folk singer Mohammad Sadiq has appointed his Haryana-based son-in-law Suraj Bharadwaj to the post. When Sadiq is abroad, Bharadwaj handles the work of the MLA.“I developed good rapport with the people of the constituency during the last elections and therefore got appointed as his PA. Being a businessman, I don’t need salary,” he said. From Hoshiarpur’s Dasuya constituency, BJP MLA Sukhjit Kaur Sahi has appointed her doctor son, Dr Harsimrat Singh Sahi, as her PA. “Many MLAs have done so, officially or unofficially. What is so big about it?” she said. Congress senior leader and MLA Lal Singh has appointed his nephew Sandeep Singh to the post. Faridkot Congress MLA Joginder Singh has also appointed his son, Sharanjit, as his PA. “PAs are paid very little and no one else is ready to work on such low wages. It is also a way to educate my son about politics,” he said. Ludhiana (North) MLA Rakesh Pandey has appointed his graduate son, Bheeshm, as his PA as he is proficient in the use of computer. Budhlada MLA Chatin Singh Samao has appointed his grandson Jagtar Singh to the post. He says he is looking for a suitable person for the job. Punjab Vidhan Sabha secretary Ved Prakash said: “MLAs can appoint anyone as their PA and the Vidhan Sabha secretariat has no role to play in it.”
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Congress MLA from Mehal Kalan Harchand Kaur has also appointed her husband Sant Singh as her PA.