Haryana Chief Secretary SC Choudhary on Tuesday apologised to IAS officer Pradeep Kasni, Secretary, Administrative Reforms, for sending a ‘threatening SMS’.
Earlier in the day, Kasni, who had objected to the manner in which the Bhupinder Singh Hooda Government appointed five persons to Constitutional posts, had accused the Chief Secretary of sending him a threatening SMS. Kasni said, he was exploring legal angles against the Chief Secretary.
Choudhary sent his apology to Kasni by another SMS on Tuesday evening after the officer went on record.
“Dear Pradip, u know that i treat u like my younger brother. It was said in lighter vein but it seems part of m message has hurt your feelings. If that is the case i regret those words which have hurt your sentiments. We were and will remain friends”. (Chief Secretary’s SMS to Kasni)
Kasni told The Pioneer that Choudhary had tried to snub him on his stand on the appointments made in a hurry.
The SMS of the Chief Secretary which Kasni found threatening read, “Good night. Pl celebrate your new status of being celebrity. But agar apni maa ka doodh piya hai toh mere saare msg press ko dikha dena”.
Asked about it, Choudhry, who retires two days later, said: “I am pained to hear this kind of reaction from him. We are like brothers and know each other well as we belong to the same district. All the messages sent by me were intended to be jokes, which friends usually exchange among themselves.”
The entire drama and fight between two bureaucrats took place when Chief minister Bhupinder Singh Hooda hurriedly administrated the oath of office to two information commissioners and three commissioners of the Right to Service Commission despite the fact that they had not been given appointment letters by Kasni.
The oath was administered at the Chief Minister’s residence by Hooda himself. Traditionally, the Governor administers oath to commissioners at Raj Bhawan. Outgoing Governor Jagannath Pahadia had authorized Hooda to administer the oath just a day before his retirement on Saturday.
The process was completed hurriedly to avoid objections by BJP appointed new Governor Kaptan Singh Solanki, who took charge on Sunday.
In his dissenting note to Hooda, Kasni hinted at irregularities in the appointments citing cuttings and overwriting on the file sent to the Governor. Kasni did not issue appointment letters because all the three recommended as the state information commissioners were holding office of profit on the date of meeting of the statutory committee.
The opposition alleged that the appointments were made flouting the rules and procedures, but state Chief Secretary maintained that there was no illegality in the appointments and in administering the oath to them. He said all officers who have been administered oath of office were either retirees or had taken voluntary retirement prior to joining their new assignment.
The two members of SIC who were administered oath by Hooda include Shiv Raman Gaur, a retired IAS officer of Haryana cadre, who has been re-employed by the state government as adviser (Health) and Rekha Rani, a government school teacher and wife of Hooda’s political adviser Virender Singh. Those who have been administered oath as commissioners in Right to Service Commission, include Sarban Singh, Dr Amar Singh and Sunil Katyal.
Dr Amar Singh, who was an excise and taxation department officer, is husband of a judge in Punjab and Haryana high court while Sarban Singh, an IAS officer, took voluntary retirement shortly before the swearing in. Katyal was posted in the Haryana’s advocate general’s office.