Babus agree to attend key meets
◗ Since the alleged attack on chief secretary Anshu Prakash, all top officials have been boycotting meetings with ministers
Softening its stand on the chief secretary assault issue, a forum of Delhi government employees has decided that officials will attend meetings called by the Aam Aadmi Party ministers in connection with the ongoing Budget Session of the Assembly.
Since the alleged attack on chief secretary Anshu Prakash by some AAP MLAs at chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s residence in February, all officials, including IAS and DANICS cadres, have been boycotting meetings with Cabinet ministers and maintaining written communication with them.
“In view of the Assembly Session, members of Joint Forum reiterated to work for the people and will attend to all duties via a vis Assembly proceedings including physical presence where necessitated,” a statement issued by the Joint Forum of Delhi government employees said.
Anshu Prakash and other senior IAS officers had recently decided to attend Cabinet meetings to ensure that people’s works are not affected.
Before a cabinet meeting on February 27, the chief secretary had written to Arvind Kejriwal, saying that he and his fellow officers would attend the meeting of council of ministers on the budget session only on the assumption of officer’s security.
“Will attend the meeting on the assumption that chief minister will ensure there is no physical attack and verbal assault on the officers,” Mr Prakash had said in the letter.
On February 27, the CS met Arvind Kejriwal and his ministers. The meeting was a first since the controversy broke. The bureaucrats in Delhi, who had severely curtailed their work hours and boycotted meetings with ministers, agreed to the meeting ahead of the budget in the state.
Over the few weeks, the bureaucrats had been on the warpath. Backed by colleagues across India, they refused to attend meetings outside office and work after office hours, which severely hampered work. Chandigarh, March 17: The AAP’s central leadership has called the party’s Punjab leaders, including MLAs, for a meeting with its national convener Arvind Kejriwal in Delhi on Sunday, after a majority of its MLAs in the state yesterday discussed the option of splitting and forming a separate unit.
Mr Kejriwal’s apology to SAD leader and former Punjab minister Bikram Singh Majithia for accusing him of being involved in drugs trade pushed AAP’s state unit into a crisis as its Punjab unit president Bhagwant Mann and co- president Aman Arora resigned from their posts on Friday.
The state leadership had said the “meek surrender” was painful. In a further jolt, the Lok Insaf Party ( LIP), AAP’s ally in the state, announced to break its alliance with the party in the wake of Mr Kejriwal’s apology. Senior leader and AAP MLA Kanwar Sandhu on Saturday said, “We have got a message and call from Manish Sisodia for a meeting tomorrow in Delhi. We were told that Arvind ji will also be in the meeting.” Mr Sandhu, however, said that he would not attend the meeting.
“It was yesterday decided by a majority of MLAs here that future meetings with the central leadership should only be held in Chandigarh,” he said. Leader of Opposition in Punjab Assembly Sukhpal Singh Khaira also said that he would not go to Delhi to attend the meeting. “I think a vast majority of
MLAs will not attend this meeting,” he said. A tworound marathon meeting was held on Saturday by the Punjab unit of the AAP here in which a resolution on splitting from the Delhi unit and forming a separate unit was discussed, though a final decision was deferred.