Haryana Governor Kaptan Singh Solanki administers oath of office to the new Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar. (PTI photo)
When, as Chief Minister, BS Hooda organized an oath-taking ceremony at his home to place five people of his choice in key posts, the BJP, then in the opposition, had vociferously protested the move as "unconstitutional".
Now the BJP government which came to power in Haryana in November, has said in court that the appointments were fair and the candidates selected through a transparent process.
On a Sunday in July last year, two hours after a new Governor, appointed by the union government, took charge of Haryana, Mr Hooda had five important officers of the Right to Information and Right to Service Commissions take their oaths at his residence, a process that is usually presided over by the Governor of the state. Among those chosen were a retired government officer seen as close to Mr Hooda, and the wife of a key political aide.
Senior bureaucrat Pradip Kasni red-flagged the event saying due procedure was not followed. As Secretary, Administrative Reforms, he refused to sign off on the appointment letters.
The matter was taken to court by a Delhi-based NGO.
The BJP government in Haryana, led by ML Khattar, ran into criticism earlier this month when it transferred senior bureaucrat Ashok Khemka out of the transport department, where he was reportedly trying to enforce rules and laws on the defiant and influential lobby of truckers.
While it was in the opposition, the BJP had attacked the Congress government for transferring Mr Khemka as a senior official handling land records after he alleged that Robert Vadra, the son-in-law of Congress chief Sonia Gandhi, had been given sweetheart deals in the state.
Critics and political rivals this week accused the BJP government of acting just like the Congress by moving Mr Khemka from an important post to a low-profile one because of his attempts to combat corruption.