Sonia steps in for Durga
Congress president Sonia Gandhi came out in support of Durga Shakti Nagpal, the sub-divisional magistrate of Gautam Budh Nagar, who was suspended by the Uttar Pradesh government for allegedly stoking communal tension in the state. Keeping her crucial ally on one side - the Akhilesh Yadav-led Samajwadi Party in the state - Gandhi in a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Saturday sought his intervention in this case. She urged the prime minister to ensure justice for the officer who took up cudgels against the sand mafia in Noida. ‘We must ensure that the officer is not unfairly treated,’ she wrote in the letter.
The young officer was suspended by the UP government for ordering the demolition of a wall that was meant to house a mosque. But supporters of the 28-year-old Nagpal say that she was punished for taking on the powerful sand mining mafia in the state. Gandhi, in her letter, said ‘there is widespread concern because officer in the course of possible duty was standing up to vested interests.’
In the letter, Gandhi asked Singh to focus on such issues as highlighted by the present case and if there was need for bringing in more measures to protect government servants while upholding the law. ‘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,’ she said.
Reacting to Gandhi’s letter, senior SP leader Naresh Agarwal said: ‘Sonia ji must write two more letters - one for Ashok Khemka and her son-in-law Robert Vadra.’ Agarwal was referring to senior IAS officer Ashok Khemka, who kicked up a political storm last year after he alleged irregularities in land deals involving businessman Robert Vadra, who is Gandhi’s son-in-law. The bureaucrat was transferred by the Congress government in Haryana soon after he ordered the probe - a move which his supporters alleged was part of a witch-hunt.
Earlier, UP chief minister Akhiklesh Yadav had justified her suspension saying it was done to prevent communal disturbances. Nagpal, whose suspension has triggered fierce criticism and demands of her reinstatement, has told the government that she had not endangered communal harmony in any way. An inquiry report ordered by the district administration has given a clean chit to the IAS officer.
