The suspension of an Uttar Pradesh IAS woman officer, who took on the powerful sand mafia, kicked up a political storm on Saturday with Congress chief Sonia Gandhi coming out in her support, saying she should not be penalised for standing up against “vested interests”, evoking a sharp retort from Mulayam Singh Yadav’s ruling Samajwadi Party.
In a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Mrs Gandhi said there is widespread concern that suspended officer Durga Shakti Nagpal in the course of her public duties was seen to be standing up against vested interests engaging in illegal activity. It is reported that Ms Nagpal has been hastily suspended for unsubstantiated reasons, she said.
“We must ensure that the officer is not unfairly treated,” she told the Prime Minister. Ms Nagpal shot into limelight for her action against the sand mafia in the state.
Reacting sharply, SP leader Naresh Aggarwal said Mrs Gandhi should write two more letters to the Prime Minister about her son-in-law Robert Vadra’s land deals in Haryana and Rajasthan.
“Gandhi should write two more letters, one about Haryana IAS officer Ashok Khemka, who was suspended by the chief minister, and another to the Rajasthan CM for suspending two IAS officers. In both the cases, the name of Mr Vadra cropped up. These cases were related to land deals. So she should write two more letters to the PM so that justice is done in all these cases,” he said. Mr Khemka had hit the spotlight alleging irregularities in Mr Vadra’s land deals in Haryana, a charge denied by the state government.
In the letter written by her as chairperson of the National Advisory Council (NAC), Mrs Gandhi asked Dr Singh to focus on such issues as highlighted by the present case and if there was a need to bring in more measures to protect government servants. A 2010 batch IAS officer, 28-year-old Nagpal was suspended on July 27 as sub-divisional magistrate of Gautam Budh Nagar district for allegedly ordering the demolition of the wall of a mosque on the ground that it could have triggered communal tension.
Ms Nagpal, whose cadre was changed to Uttar Pradesh from Punjab in August last year, is attached to the board of revenue in Lucknow.
The BJP dubbed Mrs Gandhi’s letter as just wasting time, saying both the Congress and the SP are hand-in-glove. “The SP is ruling in UP and the party supports the UPA at the Centre. By writing a letter to PM, Mrs Gandhi is just completing a formality because she is ruling the country with the support of the SP. And she also needs the SP’s support on the food security bill issue.
“The SP and the Congress are hand-in-glove. They are wasting time by writing letters. If they want to solve the issue, they can use their influence to sort it out,” BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain said.
According to PTI, Mrs Gandhi said in her letter, “This particular instance has highlighted the need for assessing whether there are adequate safeguards in place to protect executive functionaries working beyond the average call of duty to uphold the rule of law. The implementation machinery must feel that the conditions are conducive to the delivery of public services without fear or favour,” Mrs Gandhi said.
Only TV channels and a new agency were sent copies of Mrs Gandhi’s letter.
Appreciating the good beginnings made with regard to administrative reforms by the government, the Congress chief said incidents like those of Ms Nagpal have highlighted the need to focus on such issues.
Earlier in the day, the Prime Minister declined to answer queries about Ms Nagpal when reporters asked him about it after the all-party meeting called by Lok Sabha Speaker Meira Kumar.
Parliamentary affairs minister Kamal Nath had replied in the negative when asked whether the issue of problems faced by an officer in a state can be raised in Parliament.
Speaking separately, Samajwadi Party MP Shailendra Kumar indicated that the issue is being resolved. “This issue is under the consideration of the state leadership. She has met the chief secretary. Some way will be found out... The issue is gradually being resolved.”