Not only Shakuntala Gamlin, the 1984 batch IAS officer, has been on the wrong side of the Arvind Kejriwal Government but other senior bureaucrats too have faced his wrath. Chief Secretary KK Sharma and Principal Secretary (Home) Dharampal were served showcause by the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) for not routing files pertaining to the transfers of senior Delhi Police officers.
Arvind Ray, 1984 batch officer, was removed as Principal Secretary (Home) by Kejriwal as he did not like his style of functioning. During his first three months of governance, the Kejriwal Government has shunted several top bureaucrats and put a question mark over integrity and performance. Some of them have been put on compulsory wait. The officials include former Chief Secretary SK Srivastava, Anindo Majumdar, Ashutosh Kumar, Sanjiv Khirwal, Neeraj Semwal, Ashish Joshi, Parimal Rai, SP Singh, Sandeep Gulati, AK Gupta, OP Mishra and others. According to sources, bureaucracy in Delhi has been caught in the middle as a hapless tool between the war of attrition being played out between Najeeb Jung and Arvind Kejriwal. Kejriwal on Saturday has sought an appointment with President Pranab Mukherjee to lodge a complaint against Jung.
Chief Secretary KK Sharma and Principal Secretary (Home) Dharampal were also victimised by this Government. Sharma had gone to the US to meet his daughter after the Kejriwal Government issued a showcause notice to him for not sending the file of transfers and postings of 10 senior IPS officers with Delhi Police that happened on May 6. The Government has also issued showcause notice to Principal Secretary (Home) Dharampal in this matter. This is the first time that the Chief Minister’s Office has issued showcause memo to a Chief Secretary in Delhi. 1984 batch officer Arvind Ray is without a portfolio for the past one month.
The 1984 batch officer Shakuntala Gamlin was defamed by the Kejriwal Government when lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung appointed her as acting Chief Secretary for the 10 days in the absence of KK Sharma. According to her, she was threatened by the Government if she accepted the offer of the acting Chief Secretary. When she refused, the Kejriwal Government came out with a note of Power Minister Satyendra Jain in which he alleged that she has approved letter of comfort to get loan from PFC to BSES.
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 that the order was issued without the Chief Minister’s approval.
Taking serious note, lieutenant Governor declared the Kejriwal Government order as void ab initio. Parimal Rai, a 1985 batch officer, also become a victim of the ongoing tussle for supremacy of power between Raj Niwas and Delhi Government and his image was also dented in the whole controversy.
Senior officer Ashish Joshi was removed unceremoniously from Delhi Dialogues Commission (DDC) because he had refused to accommodate AAP volunteers. SK Srivastava ran out of favour in the present regime and he was not made Chief Secretary despite his seniority.
In its 100-day rule, the Kejriwal Government has also questioned the performances of VAT Commissioner Sanjiv Khirwal and Excise Commissioner Neeraj Semwal by issuing circular asking officials to apply for the post with blueprint to enhance revenue collections. It may be noted that only two officials have applied for Excise Commissioner while the Government did not get any application for the VAT Commissioner post. Similarly, DJB CEO Vijay Kumar was transferred to Food and Civil Supplies Department without any reason.
Sources said that over 100 officials of Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram-Union Territories (AGMUT) cadre have approached the Ministry and lobbying to get posting from outside Delhi. Kejriwal has heightened the confrontation with all the Government establishments, including Raj Niwas, media, Delhi Police, Delhi Commission for Women (DCW), Delhi Development Authority (DDA), Public Grievances Commission and other statutory bodies in his 100-day rule.
Policy limps as CM, l-G trade blows
The confrontation between the lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal over who the “boss” is amongst the two has led to a policy paralysis in the State with bureaucrats left blinking.
Officials say that the level of hostilities between the two has reached unprecedented level and that this sort of confrontation between the two offices has not been witnessed before. In the midst of this, it is the officials who are feeling the heat as legally they are bound to send the files related to these subjects to the l-G, rather than the CM. Officials have also questioned Delhi CM’s move to position Delhi as a full-fledged State while communicating with the l-G despite no legal and constitutional provision to back that claim.