Developmental works will continue, says govt

NEW DELHI: The Delhi government ministers worked on Wednesday at the secretariat without any problem, the officials and the senior bureaucrat have also worked the whole day. While the alleged assault on Chief Secretary has sparked a conflict between the bureaucracy and the leaders some days before the budget session, the ruling party is determined to continue its development works uninterrupted, asserted senior AAP leaders.

"We will continue the developmental works at every level inside and outside the government. We have urged the officials to continue the works as it is not for the party but for the people of Delhi," said senior AAP leader Ashutosh.

The tussle between officials and the Delhi government is nothing new in the Capital. In December 2015, the Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands Civil Service (DANICS) officers went on a mass leave against the suspension of two special home secretaries by city minister Satyendar Jain. The IAS officers had also boycotted work for half-a-day in support of DANICS officers. The chief minister had slammed former chief secretary M M Kutty when the latter allegedly refused to examine the recent metro fare hike.

In November last year as well, Kejriwal had written to the then chief secretary Kutty, asking him to initiate proceedings of "dereliction of duty" against the then PWD Secretary Ashwani Kumar over desilting of drains. In response, Kumar had hit back and said, "negativity and squabbling attitude" does not work in such a challenging task.

In June 2017, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia had also sought action against DIP (Directorate of Information and Publicity) Director Jayadev Sarangi for not arranging his Facebook Live event to address traders' issues on the GST. In May 2015, the chief minister's office had given orders to lock the office of a senior IAS officer, who had issued an order notifying the appointment of the then power secretary Shakuntala Gamlin as acting chief secretary. However, the ruling party assured that no development work will be halted.