A day after Samajwadi Party leader Narendra Bhati claimed that it was he who had got Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Durga Shakti Nagpal suspended, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) demanded the immediate revocation of the suspension order.
It maybe recalled that Nagpal was suspended last month for taking on the sand mafia and for ordering the demolition of a wall of a mosque that was being built on government land in the state's Gautam Buddh Nagar District, where she was posted as sub-divisional magistrate.
UP State Agro Industrial Corporation Limited chairperson Bhati has been seen on video boasting about getting Nagpal suspended in "just 40 minutes".
"A public admission by the Samajwadi party leader that he got an upright officer suspended in 40 minutes is indicative of the fact that the Samajwadi Party Government in Uttar Pradesh has used vote-bank politics as a near crutch to ensure that an upright officer who has been fighting against the sand mafia in Uttar Pradesh is suspended," said BJP vice president Smriti Irani
"It is our demand that Durga Shakti's suspension be immediately revoked," she added
The young 2009-batch IAS officer came into the limelight over her crackdown on the sand mining mafia, which ran rampant along the Yamuna and Hindon rivers in western Uttar Pradesh.
According to reports, Nagpal had seized nearly 300 trolleys of sand being illegally mined from the Yamuna river bed.
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Though the Uttar Pradesh government has called it as an 'administrative decision', but many believe that it was a result of pressure from the mining mafia.
Earlier, the Uttar Pradesh Government said removing Nagpal was an "administrative decision" as her decision to demolish the mosque could trigger communal tension, especially since it came during the month of Ramzan.
Defended his government's action, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav has said the bureaucrat ordered the demolition of a portion of the mosque which might have resulted in disturbing peace in the state.
"You should inquire from the people of that village. The Muslim families collected donation for building a mosque, a wall was built, and you took the decision without holding any consultation and spoilt the environment there," he said.
Yadav said there was no matter of mining for which the action was taken.
"The government will act against all those who act against goodwill and brotherhood or try to spoil the environment by of their work," he added, while rubbishing reports that the government acted tough only because it was a matter of illegal mining.
"If you look at the record of last two to three months then you will come to know that truck and machines were caught. We are also desirous that illegal mining should not take place," he added.