Sonia tells PM to ensure fair treatment for SDM
The Uttar Pradesh government was today asked by the Centre to immediately give a report on the suspension of IAS officer Durga Sakthi Nagpal, who had cracked down on sand mafia in Gautam Budh Nagar area.
"A letter has been sent today to the UP government to send its response immediately," Minister of State for Personnel V Narayanasamy said.
He said this is the third such letter sent to the state government so far after the 2010-batch IAS officer was suspended on July 27.
The Centre's fresh reminder came in the backdrop of Sonia Gandhi, who is Chairperson of National Advisory Council (NAC), yesterday writing a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, saying that Nagpal, 28, should not be "unfairly treated".
"We must ensure that the officer is not unfairly treated," Gandhi had said in her letter to Singh, who holds the charge of Personnel Ministry.
Narayanasamy said, "After seeing reports in the media, the first letter was sent on July 30 seeking a report from the state government. The second letter was sent on August 2 and the third letter has been sent today asking them to give response immediately."
An Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Personnel is in touch with the UP government over phone to expedite the report.
Narayanasamy, who is in-charge of the Ministry looking after administrative matters of India Administrative Service (IAS) officers, said Nagpal has the right to appeal against her suspension to the Centre.
"If she feels she has been suspended on the wrong reason, she can write an appeal to us," he said, adding that the woman officer has not yet written to the Centre on the issue.
Nagpal, who belongs to the UP cadre, was suspended ostensibly for ordering demolition of a wall of a under- construction mosque without following the due process.
Narayanasamy said the Centre will act if it finds that the officer has been suspended over a wrong reason.
"Representatives of IAS officers' association had met me. I had assured them the Centre will look into the issue in a dispassionate manner. The Centre will definately act if it finds that she has been suspended for a wrong reason," the Minister said.
"The Centre will decide on its future course of action on the basis of Uttar Pradesh government's response," he said when asked about the steps being mulled by the government.
A state government has to mandatorily give a report to the Centre in case of suspension of an IAS officer, officials said. Nagpal is at present attached to the Board of Revenue in Lucknow.
Meanwhile, Congress hit out at Samajwadi Party for attacking Gandhi and said the ruling party in UP is trying to hide what is essentially a case of corruption and illegal mining.
Party spokesperson Sandeep Dikshit also dismissed SP's comments that the Congress president should also write a letter in support of Ashok Khemka, the Haryana IAS officer who had scrapped her son-in-law Robert Vadra's land deals and was transferred.
"Both issues are totally different. That (Vadra's) was a civil matter. Khemka was transferred along with other officers and not suspended. Anybody could go to courts against it," he said.
Being a Member of Parliament from UP and the president of the country's largest political party, Gandhi is well within her rights to express something on a question of administrative principle and ethics, Dikshit said, adding the issue of Nagpal's suspension has gone beyond UP's boundaries.
Her suspension has evoked sharp reactions from opposition parties, including BJP and BSP, which have alleged that the Sub-Divisional Officer was removed for her crackdown on the sand mafia.
Civil society members and eminent former and serving bureaucrats have also criticised the action of the UP authorities. The All-India IAS Officers' Association has sought Nagpal's reinstatement.
As many as 4,737 IAS officers are serving in various central and state government offices across the country.
With PTI Inputs