Himachal Home Secretary Abhishek Jain relieved of charge after Election Commission’s order

PTI

Shimla, March 18

Himachal Pradesh Home and Vigilance Secretary Abhishek Jain was on Monday relieved of his charge with immediate effect after the Election Commission ordered large-scale transfers of bureaucrats in six states ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

Seeking to ensure a level-playing field in the polls, the Election Commission ordered the removal of the home secretaries of Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, Jharkhand, Himachal Pradesh and Uttarakhand, and also directed the shunting out of West Bengal DGP Rajeev Kumar.

Jain, however, will continue to function as the secretary of the information technology, finance, planning and economics and statistics departments of Himachal Pradesh. He is also the secretary of Chief Minister’s Office.

Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur said since the home secretary was also looking after CMO, this step should have been taken earlier.

“We are apprehensive that the Congress government can try to influence the elections and we welcome the move of the Election Commission of India,” he added. 

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