TIFF LATEST IN SERIES OF FACEOFFS

NEWDELHI: Tuesday’s confrontation with the Delhi government was the “culmination of a series of incidents”, bureaucrats in Delhi said, claiming a long history of “verbal abuse and intimidation by political authorities”. Delhi’s IAS, DANICS and Subordinate Services associations said they faced suspensions, salary cuts, raids, CBI probes and even FIRS — making them the worst victims of the ongoing tussle between the two power centres: the elected government and the lieutenant governor’s office.

the late-night meeting at the chief minister’s residence. Police have registered an FIR on Hussain and Khetan’s complaint, but are yet to register a case on the charges made by Dutt and Jarwal, who was arrested late in the night after being questioned.

In the middle of this crossfire, governance at the Delhi secretariat came to a halt on Tuesday as officials staged a sit-in protest against the alleged assault on the chief secretary. All meetings were cancelled, and state transport minister Kailash Gahlot said he had to call the police to escort them out of the secretariat building, which resonated with sounds of anti-government slogans all day.

The bureaucrats have decided not to hold any meetings on Wednesday, and engage in only written communication with the government.

Condemning the alleged attack on the chief secretary, a delegation of the all-india IAS association met lieutenant-governor Anil Baijal and home minister Rajnath Singh demanding action against the MLAS. The team of bureaucrats termed the incident as a “pre-planned and pre-meditated” attack.

Singh sought a report from Baijal . “I’m deeply pained by the happenings involving the chief secretary of the Delhi government. The civil servants should be allowed to work with dignity and without fear,” he said.