Jaipur: Rajasthan law minister Jogaram Patel’s son, Manish, whose appointment as Additional Advocate General (AAG) had created a furore with the Opposition questioning his appointment, has resigned from his post.
Soon after Bhajanlal Sharma-led BJP government took over on December 23 and ministries were allocated, law minister Jogarams Patel's son, Manish was given the lucrative post of AAG in Jodhpur bench on March 12 this year. AAG is supposed to represent the government of Rajasthan in courts. He was one of the six AAGs selected by the government then.
AAGs get a fixed salary of Rs 1.5 lakh yearly and they also get an appearance fee of Rs 5,000 per day per case and one AAG can get at least five cases per day, totalling upto Rs 25,000 per day. AAG gets additional Rs 5,000 for drafting cases, total accruing to about Rs six to seven lakh per month. Plus, they get the benefit of their own chamber, staff and stationery, the expenses borne entirely by the state government.
Manish says he was not feeling comfortable in the post and hence resigned due to personal reasons. He says he had submitted his resignation to Chief Minister Sharma a few days back but the news has come out now. He has confirmed in a group chat that he has put in his papers and thanked everyone for providing him the opportunity to serve as AAG.
His appointment had caused a furore and the Opposition Congress had created a ruckus in the Vidhan Sabha over this issue on August 5, saying the appointment of Manish, was entirely a political decision and questionable since he was the son of the law and legal minister, who must have had a say in his appointment.
Congress Opposition leader Tikaram Jully had raised the issue of appointment of public prosecutors and criticised that a minister’s son was one amongst them, without naming him.
There was chaos as Congress MLAs protested and sat on a night-long dharna in the Assembly after Speaker Vasudev Devnani suspended Congress MLA Mukesh Bhakar from Ladnu, for six months for “indecent behaviour.”
Minister Jogaram Patel had held a presser later, justifying his son’s appointment, saying he did not have any role to play but it was Manish’s qualifications and capabilities, which got him selected to the post. However, the Opposition MLAs did not buy the argument and continued to ask the government to explain.
The ruling BJP, which prides itself for its “no dynast rule” saying it breeds corruption and derides other parties for being antithetical to democracy, was clearly in a dilemma after the issue of Manish Patel cropped up.
Incidentally, the news of Manish Patel’s resignation has come a day before Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud are to attend Rajasthan High Court’s platinum jubilee event on August 25. The security agencies are on high alert, especially in the High Court premises.