'Has Chanda Do Dhandha Lo' scheme gone awry: Cong's dig on removal of Bhupender Yadav's aides

New Delhi, Jul 7 (PTI) The Congress on Tuesday took a swipe at the government over the removal of key aides of Environment Minister Bhupender Yadav from his office, asking whether this could be an instance of the "Pradhan Mantri Chanda Do Dhandha Lo" scheme having gone wrong. Congress general secretary Jairam Ramesh said the news of the sacking of four members of Yadav's staff is shocking. The opposition party's dig came after the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change relieved the private secretary and three additional secretaries of their duties from Yadav's office. "It is no secret how such appointments are made in the first place during the Modi regime. Can there be so much smoke without any fire? Could this be an instance of the Pradhan Mantri Chanda Do Dhandha Lo scheme having gone awry," Ramesh asked on X. Party leader Supriya Shrinate said the public has the right to know the truth about any irregularities. "It is not an ordinary matter for the entire staff of a minister to be replaced. What kind of shady dealings were going on," she asked in a post on X. "The public has the right to know the truth about any irregularities," she noted. While private secretary Amar Singh was removed on "administrative grounds", the appointment of additional private secretary Ayush Saran was terminated and additional private secretary Shailesh Kumar Singh was "prematurely repatriated to his parent cadre i.e., Department of Personnel and Training". The decision was made through three different orders - all of them dated July 3. The Congress has often used 'Chanda Do Dhandha Lo' refrain in the past for alleging that the BJP collected donations under the electoral bonds scheme and in return promised official tenders and contracts. PTI ASK SKC ZMN