Who To Minister?

If Himachal can do it, why not Punjab? And if big brother Punjab can get away with it, then why not Haryana? Taking a cue from each other, the Congress governments in these three states have conveniently sidestepped the provisions of the 91st Constitutional amendment restricting the size of ministries. The three CMs have gone ahead and appointed as parliamentary secretaries those legislators they could not accommodate in the cabinet. They have then been given ministries. Haryana CM Bhupinder Singh Hooda appointed eight legislators as PSs, of course with ministries attached. This, despite the HC having quashed a similar exercise in Himachal. The court ruled last year that PSs cannot be assigned ministerial responsibilities. The appointment of 12 parliamentary secretaries in Punjab have also been challenged in the courts.