Why didn’t ex-home secretary speak up earlier, asks Tewari

Attacking former Home Secretary R.K. Singh over the allegations made by him that Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde had interfered with the IPL betting probe, I&B Minister Manish Tewari on Tueday questioned as to why the bureaucrat had not spoken up earlier.

Mr. Tewari criticised what he said was a tendency after retirement among bureaucrats to speak out against their former bosses.

“I think it is extremely unfortunate. You have this very pernicious tendency of bureaucrats after retirement trying to make allegations in order to occupy media space,” Mr. Tewari told reporters on the sidelines of an event here.

If Mr. Singh, or anybody else, was really so concerned, then why was not the matter put on record while they were in service, Mr. Tewari asked.

Mr. Singh could have articulated his concerns to the cabinet secretary or to the prime minister, he added.

“Therefore, after retirement and that too after joining a political party, to try and shoot from the hips... I think, for the lack of a better word, is really low,” Mr. Tewari said.

Mr. Singh, now a BJP member, has alleged that Mr. Shinde had interfered with the probe into the betting scam and prevented Delhi Police from questioning a businessman of “shady” reputation.

Meanwhile, in response to a query related to the reported observations made against Delhi Law Minister Somnath Bharti in a case which he had argued as a lawyer, Mr. Tewari said that the nation was waiting to see if Aam Aadmi Party really meant what it said.

“I think AAP... has attempted to at least verbally set very high standards of public morality and discourse. I think the whole nation is waiting and watching whether they now walk the talk,” Mr. Tewari said.