Minutes before government transferred 59 more officers of Indian Police Services (IPS) and Provincial Police Services (PPS) on Saturday afternoon, Congress chief Nirmal Khatri has written to Election Commission expressing concern over what he said was the growing number of transfers being carried out by the state government in the run up to lok Sabha elections.
"Even after knowing that the Parliament elections would be held before the mid of this year, still state government has transferred 342 officials just in the past one week", claimed state president Nirmal Khatri who said to have a written a letter in this regard to Election Commission (EC) on Saturday. "Mostly, promoted PCS officers have been made district magistrates, chief development officers (CDOs), ADMs and others concerned with law and order who will be entrusted to hold the elections are being transferred", he alleged while saying the transfers seems to be politically motivated. ``Transfers before two years of tenure has been prohibited unless there is a significant reason (for the same)," he said while accusing the Samajwadi Party government for misuse of power.
Alleging that the non-Congress governments in the state had divided officials into camps on the basis of caste, Khatri said that the recent transfers have put a question mark on the holding of free and fair elections. He further called for a probe into the spate of transfers.
Meanwhile chairman of the UPCC, Satyadev Tripathi criticised state government and demanded action against the officials who facilitate a criminal to join Samajwadi Party that too during judicial custody. ``It was mockery of the entire system that a criminal was allowed to hold press-conference and declare joining in SP", alleged Tripathi while reacting joining of former MlA Dileep Verma in SP.
Tripathi said that jail minister Rajendra Chowdhary should give explanation that how a criminal in judicial custody holds a press conference and if it is against the jail manual then what action has the government so far initiated against the officials who facilitated the criminal from doing so.
Tripathi also reacted strongly to new of DIG Jhansi, Gulab Singh, touching feets of SP leader Ram Gopal Yadav. ``It is a matter of shame for all the police officers that they go up to such extent which not only brought down the morale of other cops but would also hit the image of the Khakhi’, Tripathi said adding that the government should punish such cops to stop such practices but it is matter of concern that such officers will be rewarded instead of stern action.