Not informing the new Speaker about the rules of the Assembly during discussion on Jan Lokpal Bill has led to the rejection of extension of the services of Vidhan Sabha secretary P N Mishra. Sources say Mishra, who had retired on 31 March, sought an extension of his services but the Delhi Assembly Speaker M S Dhir disagreed on the proposal.
The reason behind the rejection of his extension is said to be a goof up in Delhi Assembly on 13 February when for the first time in its history the members of the House suspended the powers of the Speaker.
The Congress and BJP MLAs scrapped Section 293 by voice vote which provides the Speaker with the power of expelling members of the House under Section 276 and 277 respectively.
The MLAs were demanding a discussion on taking action on Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA and former Delhi minister Somnath Bharti over his alleged late night raids on Ugandan women in Malviya Nagar. A majority of MLAs denied discussions on AAP’s Jan Lokpal Bill following which former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal had resigned on 14 February.
It is understood that Dhir was irked with the secretary as he failed to inform him about the rule on which the members have demanded a voice vote in time.
Dhir had to adjourn the House for a day as he had no options left.
Now, as the post is vacant, four IAS officials are in the race. Former PWD Minister’s Secretary Sudhir Mahajan, Additional Secretary Finance, Alka Diwan, Special Secretary Planning Department, B K Sharma and Secretary (Services), Kailash Chandra are the probable candidates for the post.