The Controversy over appointment of Senior IAS Officer Shakuntala Gamlin has created much more avalanche in political circles than any other issue in past. Last time, AAP Government was seen in such front-foot, was in February 2014, when CM Arvind Kejriwal resigned for non-passing of Jan Lokpal Bill in the Assembly.
Shakuntala Gamlin is as IAS Officer of 1984 Batch, designated AGMUT Cadre
Earlier this month, Delhi Government chief secretary (Services) KK Sharma left for the US on a personal visit due to which the government had to appoint an acting chief secretary.
AAM Aadmi Party led Government had recommended another bureaucrat Parimal Rai, for the post of Chief Secretary of Delhi.
On Friday May 15, 2015 Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung appointed 1984 Batch IAS Officer Shakuntala Gamlin to the post.
Also Read: Who is Shakuntala Gamlin?
On Saturday May 16, 2015 AAP Government served a notice to Gamlin ordering not to take charge . Shakuntala Gamlin takes charge. However she took charge hours after receiving the notice from Delhi Government. She denied the government’s charges and said they were baseless. Meanwhile, Parimal Rai declined to take charge, noting that he respected the L-G’s directions.
AAP Government accuses Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung of acting in an unconstitutional manner by issuing instructions directly to the Secretary (Services) to give the additional charge of Chief Secretary of Delhi to senior bureaucrat Shakuntala Gamlin.
The Delhi Government said in a statement, “Hon’ble Lieutenant Governor does not have the extra-ordinary powers under the Constitution to bypass the elected Government and issue instructions directly to the Secretaries, whatever be the provocation. Gamlin was perceived to be extremely close to electricity companies in Delhi and was ‘lobbying for their interests within the government'”
Also Read: Confrontation between LG and Delhi CM will only harm city: Sheila Dikshit
Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung escalated the matter back to the chief minister. ‘The name proposed by the Hon’ble Chief Minister did not figure in the list of names submitted by the Services Department and the concerned officer has not even been given a posting by the Delhi Government so far,’ his office said in a statement.
Delhi Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia claimed that the BJP is trying to run the government and topple AAP in the national capital through Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung. He said that this is for the first time that the LG gave directives to the officials keeping aside cabinet ministers and the chief minister. He said that this is against the law that the LG give direct orders to the officials when the latter has no right to do the same
A former colleague of Shakuntala Gamlin slammed the Arvind Kejriwal government of not knowing the Constitution and meddling in the bureaucracy. Bureaucrat and former Delhi Dialogue Secretary Ashish Joshi said the entire controversy over the appointment of Chief Secretary has resulted in the Civil services being under attack.
The same day, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said he would seek an appointment with President Pranab Mukherjee on the matter.
The same day, the Delhi government transferred Principal Secretary (Services) Anindo Majumdar who issued the order of posting of Shakuntala Gamlin as acting Chief Secretary on the direction of Lt Governor Najeeb Jung. However,Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung, overturned the decision in the evening saying that Majumdar’s removal does not have his approval and declared it as void.
On May 18, 2015 Delhi Government locked the office of Principal Secretary Anindo Majumdar and appointed another bureaucrat Rajendra Kumar in place of him. Rajendra Kumar is known to be closer to Kejriwal. Soon after, Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung rejected his appointment saying it did not have his approval.
Later, the Delhi government conveyed to Lt. Governor Najeeb Jung that the letter he wrote was against the provisions of the Constitution and thus the government cannot pay heed to it. The AAP Government said that it will write to the prime minister over it.