NEW DELHI:Attacking and defaming bureaucrats serving in Delhi is not something new to the Aam Aadmi Party government and 1984 batch IAS officer Shakuntala Gamlin is not a first officer to be victimised and targeted by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
Since the formation of the AAP government in Delhi, 14 bureaucrats, including the Chief Secretary, have faced Kejriwal’s wrath.
Before Gamlin, chief secretary of Delhi K K Sharma, who is now on leave for 10 days, was served notice by Kejriwal for not routing the files pertaining to the transfers of 10 senior Delhi police officers on May 6.
The Chief Minister not only served notice to Sharma, but also to Principal Secretary Dharampal for the same reason.
Initially, 1984 batch officer Arvind Ray was removed as Principal Secretary (Home) by the Delhi Chief Minister, as he was not routing each and every file related to Delhi Police to the Chief Minister’s Office.
Now, in bitter confrontation with Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung over the appointment of acting Chief Secretary, the AAP government also tarnished the image of 1985 batch officer Parimal Rai, who was brought into the controversy by Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia. Interestingly, the Kejriwal government also removed Principal Secretary (Services) Anindo Majumdar and special secretary (services) Ashutosh Kumar for issuing the order of Gamlin for acting chief secretary on Saturday, accusing them of issuing the order without the Chief Minister’s approval.
Amid the slugfest, Sisodia also targeted Sanjay Pratap Singh, the 1984-batch IAS officer, holding charge of Principal Secretary OBC saying, “S P Singh should not be appointed (Acting Chief Secretary) for reasons known to everyone,” hinting that he is a corrupt officer.
The Kejriwal government has shunted several top bureaucrats and has questioned their integrity and performance at various instances.