The controversy over the appointment of Delhi Acting Chief Secretary seems far from over.
In the latest development, Principal Secretary (Power) Shakuntala D. Gamlin has written a “confidential” letter to Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung blaming Delhi Power Minister Satyendra Jain for not raising his concerns regarding the Letter of Comfort (LoC) when the proposal was placed before him in mid-April.
In the letter, which was accessed by The Hindu , Ms. Gamlin questioned the Minister’s timing refusing to sign on the LoC. She also gave a point-by-point rebuttal to Mr. Jain’s allegations of lobbying with the private distribution companies.
“Thus, the allegation that ‘she [Ms. Gamlin] has been aggressively lobbying within the government to promote the interest of Reliance-owned power companies… many such instances have come to light’ is neither borne out by facts and circumstances nor is it supported by them. In case the Hon’ble Minister had been that convinced of what he is saying now at this juncture, when things are already out in the open, he ought then to have taken recourse to writing the same Note on 14.04.2015 itself, when the proposal for the LoC was placed before him. It is unfortunate that basic facts have been completely ignored and not taken cognisance of while preparing the said Note,” read Ms. Gamlin’s letter.
Mr. Jain had on May 9 sent a “secret” note to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal requesting him to relieve Ms. Gamlin of her charge as Principal Secretary (Power) alleging that she was acting on behalf of the BSES discoms.
Ms. Gamlin rebutted the allegation saying “had what has been alleged in the said note been even marginally true, the undersigned would not have taken steps to deny over Rs.1,000 crore per annum to the two Reliance-owned discoms by way of the subsidy amount due to them”.
Explaining about the LoC, Ms. Gamlin stated that the letter “cannot in any manner be stretched to mean that the GNCTD stands as a guarantor for the loan.”
The Power Minister had on May 9 sent a “secret” note to the CM requesting him to relieve Gamlin of her charge alleging she was acting on behalf of the BSES discoms
