Akhilesh defends suspension, IAS body seeks centre’s intervention

Lucknow/New Delhi  :  Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav Thursday defended the suspension of IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal even as her colleagues demanded that the central government intervene.

Speaking in Lucknow after a cabinet meeting, the chief minister said that the suspended officer’s action against a mosque could have led to communal trouble.

“The government is within its right to suspend any errant official and we have done so in accordance to laid down norms,” he said.

He rubbished charges that Nagpal was suspended under the pressure of the sand mining mafia, against whom she had acted in Noida district adjoining the national capital.

“There was nothing in the matter that is even distantly related to illegal mining,” the chief minister said.

Members of the All India IAS (Indian Administrative Service) Association meanwhile met Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office V. Narayanasamy in New Delhi and asked the central government to revoke the suspension.

The association submitted a representation demanding the amendment of rules to clearly list a prior course of action for suspension of an IAS officer.

The minister later told reporters that the central government was waiting for a report from the Uttar Pradesh government.

“We will look into the matter as soon the reply comes. We will ensure that all rules are followed and the government looks into issues in a dispassionate manner,” Narayanasamy said.

Members of the association said they would ensure that Nagpal gets justice.

“The centre can intervene in the matter on the basis of new facts being brought to the government, or if revision is filed by the officer concerned. In that case, the decision of the centre will be final,” association secretary Sanjay R. Bhoosreddy said,

He added that if Nagpal got no relief, the association would approach the court.

Nagpal was suspended July 28. The Uttar Pradesh government said she was suspended for ordering a wall of a mosque in Noida to be demolished.

A report of the Noida district magistrate has said Nagpal had not ordered the demolition but the chief minister was not moved.

“One has to look into the reports in totality. The government has done the right thing after study of various ground reports,” he said.

The chief minister vented his anger at the lobbying by the IAS association and reminded them how IAS officers were not even able to speak during the time of his predecessor Mayawati.