Bureaucrats boycott ministerial meetings

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, February 21

It was routine business at Delhi Secretariat even as bureaucrats, including Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash, of the Delhi government today abstained from meetings with the Aam Aadmi Party ministers demanding an apology from chief minister Arvind Kejriwal over the alleged assault incident on Monday.

In what could worsen the ties between the AAP dispensation and the bureaucracy, a Delhi Assembly committee has recommended privilege proceedings for what it called “contempt of House” against the Chief Secretary as he skipped its meeting on alleged fraudulent loans in cooperative banks.

The members of the Question and Reference Committee, headed by Deputy Speaker Rakhi Birla, also recommended action against the office-bearers of the IAS Officers’ Association for asking the bureaucrats to “boycott the meetings called by House panel”.

However, the IAS association said no officer was asked to boycott the meetings of the Assembly.

The Chief Secretary, who had a scheduled meeting at the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), today skipped the meeting of the Delhi legislative Assembly’s Question and Reference Committee on alleged irregularities in a cooperative bank over.

Officials at the Secretariat said during the meeting at Delhi Assembly committee members were told that Prakash was not well after attending a meeting at the PMO at 3 pm.

Current Secretary-cum-Registrar of Department of Cooperative Society (RCS) JB Singh and former RCS Shurbir Singh, who also abstained from today's meeting, could also face the privilege action, committee member Sourabh Bharadwaj told reporters here.