Bureaucrats in the Capital received the support of their counterparts from 27 states.
The ongoing tussle between the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government and the bureaucrats escalated further on Wednesday with IAS officers from across the country offering their support to the officers in the national Capital over the alleged assault on Delhi Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash by AAP MLAs at Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s residence on Monday night.
Three associations representing officials of IAS, Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands Civil Service and the Delhi Administrative Subordinate Services received support from Indian Revenue Services (IRS) and Indian Forest Service (IFS) from 27 states over the issue. “This is the time to show solidarity towards the safety and security of the administrative officers. We will not let this issue die like this. Strict action should be taken against the accused,” said a senior bureaucrat.
“The foundation for the restoration of National Values (FRNV) strongly condemns the assault on the chief secretary of Delhi which reflects the diminishing value system in the society,” said Dr E Sreedharan, president of FRNV.
The officers’ body on Tuesday had announced a complete boycott of meetings with Kejriwal and his Cabinet colleagues until he apologised for the alleged assault on the chief secretary and maintain written communication with them.
Only Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and Environment Minister Imran Hussain came to the Delhi Secretariat, which houses offices of all ministers and top bureaucrats, and worked in their respective offices.
Chief Secretary Prakash, Home Secretary Manoj Parida, Power Secretary Varsa Joshi and Health Secretary Rajeev Yaduvanshi were among the senior officers who worked in their respective offices, but they did not have scheduled meetings with ministers.
According to the sources, the bureaucrats did not attend the scheduled departmental meetings on Wednesday and were busy meeting each other and discussing the further course of action. “The scheduled meetings were later attended by the departmental heads,” said a senior officer.
The chief secretary stayed at the secretarial till around 3 pm, and then he had left for a scheduled meeting on the ease-of-doing business at the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO).
According to the officers, till the time the political executive of GNCTD takes tangible action to rebuild this trust, the officers and staff of Delhi Government will continue their peaceful protest and work only through the formal written channels of communication. “A coordination committee comprising of representatives of all employee associations has been formed. We are resolved to continue to serve the people of Delhi and at the same time, we urge that the safety and dignity of officers and employees be ensured,” said Manisha Saxena, secretary, IAS Association of Delhi.
WHY IS CM SILENT?
While the politics in the national Capital is on the boil, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was in Tamil Nadu to attend the launch ceremony of actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan’s political party on Wednesday. Surprisingly, Kejriwal, who has always been defensive about the AAP members, has maintained complete silence over the ongoing tussle between his government and the bureaucrats. The CM has neither posted anything on social media, nor has he made any public statement to support his MLAs Amanatullah Khan and Prakash Jarwal.
MLA’S PRESENT AT MEET
Prakash Jarwal, Amanatullah Khan, Ajay Dutt, Rajesh Rishi, Rajesh Gupta, Rituraj Govind, Madan Lal, Praveen Kumar, Dinesh Mohaniya, Sanjeev Jha and Nitin Tyagi.
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 "Anshu Prakash and Arvind Kejriwal")
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