At a fuction organised to mark Civil Services Day at Delhi Secretariat on Tuesday, Chief Minister Arwind Kejriwal made it clear that bureaucracy will have to toe the lines of the Government.
Kejriwal said: “If they don’t, they should resign and give space to others. Those who are 45 years old or above may also give it a thought whether to continue or not.”
Criticising the top civil servants’ decision to proceed on day-long strike on December 31 in protest against the suspension of a senior DANICS official, Kejriwal said that his Government will last at least for the next 15 years in Delhi and this could be disappointing for all those officers who are around 45 years of age. He said that the strike of IAS and DANICS officers was done at the behest of the Opposition (read BJP Government at the Centre).
Kejriwal said that strike by bureaucrats on December 31 last year had even hampered odd-even scheme’s pilot project.
He said, “How could a bureaucrat refuse to sign a proposal approved by the Cabinet. When we suspended them, they went on strike. Such a thing has never happened in the history of this country.”
He firmly pointed out that the elected Government was supreme in democratic system, and not the bureaucracy. The Chief Minister conveyed his points tersely to top bureaucrats and then proceeded to participate in another programme at India Habitat Centre.
During an interacting session, a DANICS officer rose and asked the guests present at the dias what was happening there. He said officers in Delhi Government did not know whom to follow in this highly confusing scenario. He was supported by his colleagues present in the hall. In the absence of the Chief Minister, he wanted a reply from the senior officials present at the dias. He further suggested that there should be a dialogue commission along the lines of Delhi Dialogue Commission to address the problems being faced by the bureaucrats.
After Kejriwal’s speech, a senior bureaucrat who has recently joined the Delhi Government, said that there was a trust deficit between bureaucracy and the elected Government. “This was not a right forum to address such an issue,” he added.
Reacting to the CM’s speech, a senior bureaucrat said that the first phase of odd-even succeeded due to hard work of all those officers who were associated with it.