Taking a jibe at the ruling Congress Party's concern over the suspension of Uttar Pradesh IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal, state Urban Development Minister Azam Khan on Friday said that Congress President Sonia Gandhi's letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh on Durga Nagpal's suspension is a political gimmick.
"Congress President had written a letter for the officer only with the hope that in the 2014 general election, they will be able to garner some ten votes from the place where the SDM is posted.
UPA chairperson and Congress President Sonia Gandhi on August 3 wrote a letter to Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh urging him to intervene into the suspension order of IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal.
Commenting on Nagpal's suspension, Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh on August 6 said rules laid down would be followed in the case.
Though the Uttar Pradesh Government has called it as an 'administrative decision', against her for demolishing a wall which was part of an intended mosque, but many believe that it was the result of pressure from the mining mafia.
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav has maintained his stand on the suspension of the IAS officer.
"If an official makes a mistake then the government punishes the official. This is the way government works," Yadav said.
A copy of the charge-sheet along with a report has been sent to the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) at the Centre. The Samajwadi Party Government's 10-page charge-sheet accuses Nagpal of violating norms while ordering the demolition of the wall of a mosque built illegally on government land at Gautam Budh Nagar in Greater Noida
Durga Shakti Nagpal was suspended last month ostensibly 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.
According to reports, the 2009-batch IAS officer had seized nearly 300 trolleys of sand being illegally mined from the Yamuna river bed.
