Haryana Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda
On Sunday, just after a new Governor took charge in Haryana, the state's Chief Minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda organised an oath ceremony at home and appointed five senior officers, allegedly skirting protocol.
Mr Hooda administered the oath of office to two information commissioners and three Right to Service commissioners in a ceremony that was reportedly organized in a hurry, two hours after BJP nominee Kaptan Singh Solanki took over as Governor.
But Haryana's Secretary, Administrative Reforms, Pradip Kasni, has red-flagged the appointments saying due procedure was not followed.
Mr Kasni has reportedly refused to sign the appointment letters in an act of confrontation that has drawn comparisons with another IAS officer Ashok Khemka, who was allegedly targeted by the Congress government for cancelling a land deal involving Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law Robert Vadra.
"It is an internal matter. Speak to the Chief Secretary," Mr Kasni told NDTV.
Commissioners are usually sworn in by the governor, and if Mr Hooda's action is challenged, these appointments may stand cancelled.
Responding to opposition criticism, the Chief Minister has claimed that he was authorized by outgoing governor Jagannath Pahadia to appoint the commissioners.
But the BJP says the Hooda government should have taken permission again and waited for the new Governor to swear in the new officers.
"The Chief Minister invited people home and had them take oath on a holiday. This is completely unconstitutional. On one hand, a new governor is taking oath and on the other hand, people are being invited home for the oath taking ceremony," said BJP leader Anil Vij.
The Haryana appointments row is the latest in a series of controversies over governors since the BJP came to power in May. Several governors appointed by the previous Congress-led regime have either quit or been shifted. Five senior BJP leaders were named governors this month.