Services Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj on Saturday wrote to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal recommending disciplinary proceedings against Special Secretary (Vigilance) Y.V.V.J. Rajasekhar and his immediate transfer, “to protect official records and ensure the safety of employees”.
Seeking action under the All India Service (Conduct) Rules, Mr. Bharadwaj wrote to the CM that there are complaints of corruption against the officer which may be referred to an investigative agency. The move comes a day after Delhi Police registered an FIR against unknown persons based on a complaint by Mr. Rajasekhar. He had alleged that several documents related to ongoing probes in corruption cases were removed from his office at Delhi Secretariat on the intervening night of May 15 and 16. Mr. Rajasekhar added he suspected many files to have been copied or destroyed.
Two days after the Supreme Court on May 11 ruled in its favour in the Delhi Services issue, the Aam Aadmi Party government issued an order divesting Mr. Rajasekhar of all his duties. However, the Centre on May 19 passed an ordinance to establish the National Capital Civil Service Authority (NCCSA), effectively reversing the apex court order.
‘Will reach MHA’
According to sources, before the ordinance, only the L-G had the authority to initiate disciplinary proceedings against an officer. “Now, the NCCSA will look into Mr. Bharadwaj’s recommendations,” a source said. He added the matter will also be sent to the Ministry of Home Affairs as Mr. Rajasekhar is an All India Services officer.
Reacting to the development, Delhi Bharatiya Janata Party president Virendra Sachdeva said Mr. Kejriwal wants to appoint an officer in the Vigilance Department whom he can “pressurise” to influence the ongoing probes against the AAP government.
“If the Special Secretary (Vigilance) is as corrupt as they have been propagating for the last 20 days, why did it come to the notice of the Chief Minister only after the Supreme Court order of May 11? Why did he or any Minister not speak a word against [Mr. Rajasekhar] before May 11?” Mr. Sachdeva said.
He alleged that Mr. Kejriwal’s aim is to “cover up” the probes, such as those related to his residence and the excise policy case.
‘Detailed dossier’
In a detailed dossier sent to the CM, Mr. Bhardwaj said, “Mr. Rajasekhar has deliberately, willfully and illegally held hostage umpteen files pertaining to [the] Vigilance Department, seemingly due to ulterior motives...”
The officer resorted to concocting false and frivolous stories and sharing them widely in the media to undermine the credibility of the functioning of the Minister In-charge and the Secretary (Vigilance), he added.
“This amounts to an act of direct insubordination and unethical behaviour on multiple counts. It also begs the question that if he had done nothing wrong, why did he resort to attacking his superiors rather than submitting himself to a fair investigation?” Mr. Bharadwaj stated.
Published - June 04, 2023 03:27 am IST