Manish Sisodia likens IAS officers’ body to khap

New Delhi: The simmering row between the Delhi government and its bureaucrats today refused to die as deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia shot off a terse letter to Lt Governor Anil Baijal, equating the IAS officers’ association with a “khaap panchyat”, and attacked him for “backing” its “fatwa” to boycott official meetings with AAP ministers.

Mr Sisodia’s remarks came a day after Mr Baijal wrote to chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, saying the alleged assault on chief secretary Anshu Prakash by MLAs on February 19 has sent “shock waves” among all sections of government employees across the country and had a demoralising effect on the bureaucracy.

Citing Mr Baijal’s letter, Mr Sisodia said when an IAS officer goes to the L-G claiming he was scolded by an AAP minister, he wipes his “tears” and despite his “uselessness”, the L-G encourages him to boycott meetings, saying he is standing with him.

“If I scold them, they would approach you to register their demoralisation in your diary. If we say more, their IAS association issues fatwa against us like a ‘khaap panchayat’,” he said.

“You (L-G) were requested (by the Delhi Cabinet) to order some officers two days back to attend meetings, but despite this, you wrote a letter to the chief minister, which suggests that you are openly supporting the fatwa of IAS association under which junior officers are being forced not to attend meetings and speak to ministers...” Mr Sisodia said in his letter to Mr Baijal.

Claiming non-payment of salaries to anganwadi volunteers for three months in his three-page letter in Hindi, Mr Sisodia continued to fire salvo at Mr Baijal, saying: “For three months, 10,000 Angadwadi workers, 10,000 anganwadi helpers and 10,000 anganwadi landlords have not received their salaries because of them (IAS officers). You are the L-G of Delhi. You have also been an IAS officer, but I request you to stop seeing things through spectacles of an IAS officer.”

“Think about a three-year old child who goes to anganwadi, but his teacher has not got salary for the last three months.”

“If a bunch of anganwadi workers approach you at your office, they would be lathicharged 2 km away from your office,” he added.

In the letter, Mr Sisodia demanded action against officers who are responsible for non-payment of salaries to anganwadi workers. “I have tried to calmly make them (officers) understand, but they are not relenting. If they would have been sensitive, there would not have been non-payment of salaries to volunteers.