M A I N   N E W S

SP, Cong slug it out over UP officer
PM says rules will be followed
Mulayam backs son, says suspension final
Aditi Tandon & Shahira Naim/TNS

Recall IAS officers, says SP Samajwadi Party general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav dared the Centre to recall all IAS officers from the state if there was a problem with the action taken against Durga He was responding to Minister of State for Personnel V Narayanasamy’s remarks that the Centre could consider revoking Durga’s suspension if she petitioned the Centre Narayanasamy said the case status report was awaited from the UP Govt despite three letters to it Akhilesh adamant There might be many children who I can say would have received a beating from their teachers and parents when they had done something wrong... the government is also run like this, whenever any official does something wrong, he is punished. — Akhilesh Yadav, UP Chief Minister

New Delhi/Lucknow, August 5
A defiant Samajwadi Party on Monday hardened its stand on the suspension of IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal, who led the crackdown on the sand mining mafia in her district, asserting that the Uttar Pradesh Government's decision was "correct and final" and taunted the Centre to withdraw all IAS officers from the state.

Soon after PM Manmohan Singh said that the Centre was in touch with the UP Government on the case ,and that rules laid down in respect of IAS officers would be followed, Samajwadi Party chief Mulayam Singh Yadav ruled out revoking the Gautam Budh Nagar SDM’s suspension.

Firmly backing his son and UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on the suspension of Durga for her alleged role in ordering demolition of a mosque wall in Gautam Budh Nagar in the month of Ramzan, Mulayam said the chargesheet was “rightly served”. “It is correct. It is final," he told reporters outside Parliament with a firm "no" on being asked whether the suspension order would be revoked.

His lieutenants went a step further, with SP general secretary Ram Gopal Yadav daring the Centre to recall all IAS officers from the state if there was a problem with the action taken against Durga. “If such pressure continues to be mounted on us, we would have no option but to write to the Central Government to recall all its officers. We will run the state with state-level officers,” said Yadav.

He was responding to Minister of State for Personnel V Narayanasamy’s remarks that the Centre could consider revoking Durga’s suspension in case she petitions the Centre in the matter. Despite having written thrice to the state government, no status report has been received, he said.

“We first asked the UP Government to furnish a status report in the matter in July. On August 2 we sent another letter. The final letter asking them to urgently send the report has also been sent and we are hoping for a reply today. We also hear that a copy of the UP government’s chargesheet has been sent to us,” Narayanasamy said. He said according to the rules the state government has to file such a report within a week.

The UP Government has already chargesheeted Durga, who, incidentally, has not received support from the UP IAS Officers Association though the Central IAS Officers Association is backing her.

Meanwhile Akhilesh Yadav continued to vigorously justify the 2010-batch officer’s suspension. “There might be many children (sitting here) who I can say would have received a beating from their teachers and parents when they had done something wrong... the government is also run like this, whenever any official does something wrong he is punished."

Intel report puts Akhilesh govt on sticky wicket
Shahira Naim/TNS

Lucknow, August 5
With the Gautam Buddha Nagar Local Intelligence Unit (LIU) report on the Kadalpur mosque wall demolition episode not even mentioning GB Nagar (Sadar) SDM Durga Shakti Nagpal, the Akhilesh Yadav government increasingly appears to be on a sticky wicket.

Sources said the LIU report on the incident mentions the SDM Jewar, Bachchu Singh, as being in charge of the area where three 10-ft height walls were demolished hours before Nagpal’s suspension on July 27.

The LIU report also mentions that controversial SP leader Harish Singh Bhatti, holding Cabinet minister rank in UP, had donated Rs 51,000 three months ago for building the controversial mosque.

Bhatti, who has close links with the illegal sand mafia of the area, had bragged about getting Nagpal suspended within 41 minutes of his phone calls to SP national president Mulayam Singh Yadav and CM Akhilesh Yadav.

On August 1, when CM Yadav had been confronted with the GB Nagar DM’s report which had absolved Nagpal of being responsible for the demolition of the wall, he had quoted this LIU report as the basis for the decision to suspend Nagpal.

Not mentioning Bhatti’s donation for the masjid, the CM had claimed that local people had collected money to build a mosque which was reportedly demolished by the officer without following the due process.