Raghav Chadha was appointed as an adviser to Manish Sisodia from January 16 to March 31, 2016.
Highlights
- He had drawn Rs 2.50 as salary as one of 9 advisers in AAP government
- All 9 advisers were sacked after centre said posts weren't sanctioned
- Mr Chadha, sarcastically, said he had "realized the error of my ways"
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Raghav Chadha's letter to Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh today enclosed a demand draft worth a grand total of Rs 2.50 - the amount he said he had drawn as salary as one of the nine advisers in the Arvind Kejriwal government.
All nine advisers were sacked yesterday after the home ministry said the posts were not sanctioned. Raghav Chadha said his appointment was for two months and a half in 2016 to help prepare the Delhi Budget, at a token salary.
"I was offered an honorarium of Re 1 per month and over my time there earned a princely sum of Rs 2.50," Raghav Chadha said in a letter to Rajnath Singh.
"While we cannot change what is in the past, please accept enclosed a Demand Draft of Rs 2.50 in favour of the Ministry of Home Affairs that I earned in my capacity as adviser as a token of my remorse."
Dripping sarcasm, the AAP leader also said he had "realized the error of my ways".
Raghav Chadha took potshots at the ruling BJP at the centre over Sambit Patra and Shazia Ilmi being appointed directors at public sector companies and for religious leaders in Madhya Pradesh being given the rank of minister.
A chartered accountant,
Raghav Chadha is one of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's closest aides. He was appointed adviser to Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia between January and March 2016, to prep for that year's Delhi budget.
Nixing his appointment and that of the others, the home ministry said the post of consultants and advisers had been set up "by an agency not competent under the law to do so".
This is the latest flashpoint between the centre and the AAP government, which have been locked in an incessant fight for the control of Delhi. AAP alleges that its work in Delhi and its functions are hamstrung by the centre's veto.
The party won some reprieve recently when the Delhi High court set aside the Election Commission's order disqualifying 20 of its lawmakers for holding offices of profit as parliamentary secretaries.