Delhi bureaucrats most efficient, says Sheila Dikshit
Ms Dikshit was the chief minister of Delhi for 15 years, from 1998 to 2013, heading the Congress government in the national capital.
New Delhi: A day after Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal alleged that 90 per cent of the IAS officers do not work, former CM Sheila Dikshit, on Tuesday, said that Delhi has “some of the most efficient” bureaucrats. The three-time chief minister said that Delhi’s officers helped her achieve her goal of transforming the city.
“Kejriwalji, Delhi has some of the most efficient bureaucrats. They helped me tirelessly in achieving my goal of transforming Delhi,” Ms Dikshit tweeted.
Notably, Ms Dikshit was the chief minister of Delhi for 15 years, from 1998 to 2013, heading the Congress government in the national capital.
At an event on Monday, Mr Kejriwal alleged that 90 per cent of the IAS officers “do not work” and said at times he felt that development was “stuck up at the secretariat.” The Delhi chief minister also alleged that the IAS officers “obstructed files” pertaining to development works. The AAP (Aam Aadmi Party) government and the bureaucracy, which comes under the lieutenant-governor, have been at loggerheads on several issues. In December 2015, Delhi government bureaucrats had gone on mass leave to protest the suspension of two Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands Civil Service (DANICS) cadre officers.
In May 2015, Mr Kejriwal had accused the then acting chief secretary, Shakuntala Gamlin, of “favouring” power companies and claimed that she wanted to “trick the government into signing documents which would give '11,000 crore to these firms.”
Earlier this month, the government had issued an order to lock the office of a senior IAS officer after he issued directives notifying the appointment of then power secretary Ms Gamlin as the acting chief secretary.
Leader of Opposition Vijender Gupta said that Mr Kejriwal’s allegation that 90 per cent of the IAS officers in Delhi “do not work” and “hold up the files” is a big blow to the democratic functioning of the Delhi government.
“It is likely to affect the morale and will of the bureaucracy to work for the state,” Mr Gupta added.