NEW DELHI: Reacting to the allegations made by the Delhi government about L-G and Chief Secretary (CS) bypassing the constitutional mandate, officials from the L-G secretariat on Friday said the statements made by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal are ‘false and misleading.’
An L-G House official described the statement issued by the city government as ‘shocking and misleading,’ adding that it has incorrect assumptions and half-truths. The CMO on Thursday alleged that even before the first meeting of the National Capital Civil Services Authority could be convened, it has become clear that the authority is nothing but a farce body since several proposals related to services are being directly sent by the CS to the L-G, bypassing the CM and the NCCSA.
The government added that two weeks earlier, the CS and the L-G colluded to bypass the CM and the NCCSA and directly issued suspension orders for an officer in another matter. “It is shocking that false and misleading statements comprising patently wrong assertions and half-truths are being issued as official statements of the Chief Minister’s Office,” a senior official from the L-G secretariat retorted.
“Contrary to claims being made, not a single file pertaining to posting or transfer has been sent to or received by the L-G secretariat after the ordinance came into effect. As far as the matter of suspension of an official is concerned, it was duly recommended by the Authority (NCCSA) as per law, and the CM, as Chairman of the NCCSA, was fully aware of it,” he said.
“Moreover, in any case the LG is the disciplinary authority as per previous and extant laws, and the matter of suspension being referred to in CM’s statement pertained to gross deviation from rules, amounting to misuse of authority for dispensing undue favors to individuals,” the official added. The NCCSA, formed on May 19 by the Centre to bring back executive control over matters related to services to its domain, is likely to discuss disciplinary proceedings against an officer during the meeting.
Chief Secy summoned in land transfer case
The Petitions Committee of Delhi Assembly has summoned Chief Secretary Naresh Kumar in connection with a land-related complaint. The committee has also requested the chief secretary of the Delhi government to furnish answers to some questions by June 21. The Petitions Committee had received a complaint against IAS officer Ashish More who was recently removed from the post of secretary (services) on the order of Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj.