Political appointees must resign voluntarily: Naidu

Union Urban Development Minister Venkaiah Naidu enters Sampige Road Namma metro station to Rajaji Nagar during his visit to Namma Metro in Bangalore on Friday. Photo: G.P. Sampath Kumar

Union Minister for Urban Development M. Venkaiah Naidu on Friday said that with the new dispensation taking charge, political appointees should vacate their offices without being asked to do so.

“We have not assaulted anybody,” he said to a question by journalists whether it was true that Governors appointed by the erstwhile party in power had been pressured by BJP members to step down from their posts.

Mr. Naidu said it would be in the interest of the system and democracy for all political appointees to resign voluntarily. A smooth functioning of the system required that persons appointed by the former government should leave. Political appointments should always go with the political establishment.

Some of our Congress friends are preaching....I would request them to check their consciousness and find out what they have done. If they do it- good, if others expect them to do it- bad; is this the right way? Such double standard politics is not good for any one

Persons occupying the posts should introspect and give up the posts without expecting others to request them to do so. Instead, they had made the issue controversial, Mr. Naidu noted.

He said “some of the Congress friends are teaching and preaching [to] us that it was an assault on the human conscience. They should search their conscience.” Further, people could decide whether they wanted a politician or non-politician as Governor.