IAS officers in UP are enraged over the manner in which the Akhilesh Yadav government is trying to prolong the suspension of IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal by ordering yet another inquiry into the allegations against her.
“It is clear that the state government does not want to revoke her suspension and is trying to stretch the matter. If the inquiry had to be ordered, it could have been done earlier — in fact, the government should have conducted an inquiry before ordering her suspension,” said a principal secretary rank officer.
Another relatively junior officer was equally upset at the government’s move.
“It has been exactly a month since Durga Shakti Nagpal was suspended and even though she has not uttered a word till now, the state government has turned it into a prestige issue. The government’s attitude is very frustrating for us and we feel we have made a mistake by choosing the UP cadre,” the officer said.
The IAS officers in the state have no expectations left from the UP IAS Association after the manner in which the association retraced its steps on the issue last month.
It may be recalled that after a customary meeting with the then officiating chief secretary Alok Ranjan, who is also the president of the UP IAS Association, the bureaucrats have maintained a studied silence on the issue. The association had also distanced itself from the Central IAS Association when their delegation met the Union minister of state for personnel.
“There is no point in convening a meeting of the UP IAS Association because our office bearers seem to be under tremendous pressure from the government. We are thinking of signing a petition and sending it to the Central IAS Association which has been actively pursuing the case of Durga Nagpal,” said an executive member of the UP IAS Association.
Some bureaucrats are also in favour of asking the Central IAS Association to seek judicial redressal in the matter and press for an amendment in rules so that the power of suspension is taken away from the state governments.