The controversy related to the suspension of IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal refuses to die down.
Senior UP minister Azam Khan has now defended the statement made by his colleagues about running the state without IAS officers.
“The number of IAS officers would be a few thousands — may be 1,000 to 2,000 — this country has 125 crore people. This is a British system. They had introduced it but they themselves are not using it. Be it China, Europe, America, Japan or the Gulf, this system exists nowhere. Why? Is it only these IAS officers who are just 2,000, 3,000 or 10,000 in numbers who can run the country? Is the population of over 125 crore illiterate, incapable or fools? They can also run the country on their own,” he said while talking to reporters in Rampur on Friday.
The minister further said that the civil service system in the country should be done away with as it was followed by the British and does not even exist in their own country now,” he said.
Taking a dig at Congress president Sonia Gandhi, Mr Khan said that the Congress had reduced itself to a level where Mrs Sonia Gandhi now writes letters in transfer cases. “It would be better if the Congress concentrated on issues of national importance like inflation, corruption and left issues like suspension of junior officers to the state governments,” he said.
The minister said that the Congress president had probably written the letter to Prime Minister for Durga Shakti Nagpal in the hope that her party would be able to get some 10-15 votes in Greater Noida.
UPA chairperson and Congress president Sonia Gandhi had written a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on August 3 urging him to intervene into the suspension order of IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal.
Mr Khan further called the Congress a “weak party” and said that there was an urgent need to make a decision on ways to strengthen our borders. “It is unfortunate that we have no friends amongst our neighbours and this speaks volumes about the policies of the Congress,” he stated. The minister said the Congress is an expert in changing statements.