AAP minister approaches bureaucrats to resolve crisis

The Delhi government’s handpicked minister, Rajendra Pal Gautam has approached various associations of bureaucrats and government employees to bridge the trust gap between them and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) ministers after the alleged assault of Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash.

Gautam, who is the Social Welfare Minister, was selected to be the peacemaker by Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Saturday. The government’s move to approach the bureaucrats comes days after the IAS officers refused to attend any meetings with the AAP ministers. The bureaucrats are only having written communication with the concerned ministers. 

According to the sources, many senior bureaucrats in the Capital have been approached by the AAP ministers in the last two days. “They (ministers) are trying to solve the issue. Many IAS officers were approached individually by them for a solution. However, we cannot take this decision in a hurry. A meeting has been called on Monday to discuss this matter,” said a Delhi government bureaucrat. 

On Friday, Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal also held a meeting with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over the alleged attack on Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash by the AAP MLAs. Baijal termed the incident unfortunate and said that the state government must take steps to remove the mistrust between the government employees and the elected ministers. 

The IAS officers, however, are still questioning why Kejriwal has not yet directly approached them. “It is extremely important for the CM to respond. If he is not showing any sign of regret, then how do we trust him? 
Our officers are apprehensive to be in the same room with the MLAs. If a top bureaucrat can face this behaviour, then how do we know that we are safe,” said another Delhi government official. 

On the other hand, the AAP government claimed that Kejriwal was open to have a discussion with the officers. 

“We are waiting for the bureaucrats to respond to the request. I have been selected by the chief minister and he is also open to have a discussion with them. If they approach him, he will surely answer their queries,” said Gautam.

CRISIS MANAGEMENT

• The government’s move to approach the bureaucrats comes days after the IAS officers refused to attend any meetings with the AAP ministers
   
• The bureaucrats are only having written communication with the concerned ministers
   
• Many senior bureaucrats have been approached by AAP