The confrontation between Raj Niwas and Players Building seems to be taking a toll on bureaucracy of Delhi Government, which has now also reached Rashtrapati Bhavan. lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung in a written complaint to Home Minister Rajnath Singh has said that the officers of the Delhi Government are “working under considerable pressure”.
The confrontation between Jung and Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal intensified on Saturday with senior bureaucrat Shakuntala Gamlin taking charge as acting Chief Secretary despite being asked not to do so by the AAP Government, which accused BJP of attempting a “coup” against it through the lieutenant Governor.
Gamlin took charge of the post hours after Kejriwal sent her a letter asking her not to do so as her appointment was “against” rules. On the other hand, Kejriwal is also planning to give a petition to the President of India on the role of lieutenant Governor. The Kejriwal Government has alleged that the BJP was attempting to carry out a “coup” against it through Najeeb Jung. “This is for the first time that l-G is issuing direct instructions to officers, bypassing the Chief Minister and Council of Ministers,” Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said.
Sources in the MHA said that the l-G office has also received intimation that the IAS Association of Delhi would meet to discuss the high-handedness of AAP Government in dealing with bureaucracy. Jung has also conveyed to Kejriwal that the recent development is unwarranted. Frankly, I am at a loss for words over this development. Such behaviour with officers of the rank of the Chief Secretary is unheard of. I also wish to inform you that officers who have heard of this episode are deeply perturbed,” Jung said in his letter to Kejriwal on late Friday evening.
“The officers of the Delhi Government are working under considerable pressure and I am informed that the IAS and DANICS is reportedly meeting to discuss the issue,” Jung said in his late Friday evening letter to the Union Home Minister. The IAS and DANICS associations are planning to meet Union Home Minister and Home Secretary lC Goyal to lodge a complaint that officials are being ill-treated by the Arvind Kejriwal Government in Delhi. The IAS Association on Friday evening held a meeting and discussed the matter. The association is considering pen-down strike in protest of the ill-treatment of bureaucracy. There is also a possibility that the association may go on mass leave in protest. The final decision will be taken within a day or two.
A top IAS officer told The Pioneer that this is for the first time in India’s history that civil servants are being defamed by a State Government.”If a State Government defames us, who will protect usIJ” asked a peeved bureaucrat. Top sources said that the association of the IAS officers was in the process of passing a memorandum to condemn these incidents. A draft of the memorandum, accessed by this newspaper, said: “As a result of gross misunderstanding of the Constitutional provisions relating to powers of the Council of Ministers of GNCTD and infringement of official protocol and etiquette in several instances, the atmosphere in Delhi Sachivalaya has become highly vitiated and suffocating”.
The proposed memorandum further said that the officers belonging to the IAS and DANICS should not be intimidated by the Ministers of Delhi. Ever since Kejriwal took over, he has been in confrontation with Government establishments including Raj Niwas, Delhi Police, media, Delhi Commission for Women (DCW), Delhi Development Authority (DDA), Public Grievances Commission and other statutory bodies.