NEW DELHI: The apex organisation of IAS officers in the country has "condemned" the alleged "misbehaviour" of Delhi Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot with Transport Secretary Varsha Joshi at a recent meeting, saying it was "unacceptable". Joshi, who refused to comment on the issue, however, took to Twitter on Sunday, listing the various initiatives taken by the Transport department to ensure efficiency and remove corruption in the department, where she serves as secretary-cum-commissioner.
"This kind of misbehaviour with officials is just not acceptable. Strongly condemned," the IAS (Central) Association tweeted, referring to the incident involving Joshi.
In a series of tweets, Joshi also replied to the allegation that she was protecting touts. "The idea of a Transport Commissioner –any Transport Commissioner –protecting touts is beyond laughable," she said, while promising to provide the details of the steps taken to check corruption since April 2017, when she took charge of the post.
Gahlot allegedly misbehaved with Joshi during a meeting on Friday to review the replies of the Transport department to questions to be asked in the Monsoon Session of the Assembly.
The development, following a protest movement by IAS officers earlier this year over an alleged assault on Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash, has further strained the relations between the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the bureaucrats. The IAS-AGMUT Association has also alleged that threats to the integrity and dignity of the officers continued 'unabated'. "We embraced the assurances of our Hon'ble CM but the threats on our dignity and integrity continue unabated," tweeted the association of IAS officers belonging to the AGMUT (Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram and Union Territories) cadre.
However, DN Singh, president of Delhi Govt Employees Welfare Association has come out in support of the AAP government. He said that officers of every level are public servants and must regard the elected government as mandated by the Constitution of India.
"We are strongly against any attempt to justify corruption in any manner in any of the institution or department under Delhi government," Singh added.
"We believe in democracy, transparency, and dedication in delivering the services to public and as such we also support the safety and dignity for all, i.e. dignity of a peon to that of the President including elected representatives and Executives/Minister or CM. We are strongly against using employees for hoax cries of victimization in the name of dignity by the senior officers just to create a situation of an anarchist state," Singh said.