Delhi government today hit out at Centre over the transfer of VAT Commissioner Vijay Kumar and four other IAS officers, saying that it was running an elected government in the capital by "dictatorship" and also hinted at "pressure from lobbies" behind the move.
Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said that Centre did not consult the Arvind Kejriwal government before transferring Kumar and asked whether an elected government could not even choose its VAT commissioner.
Claiming that Kumar, as the VAT chief, had cracked the whip on big tax evaders, Sisodia told a press conference here that the transfer could have been possibly "pressurised" by a lobby of such persons.
"Kumar had unearthed a racket of a firm which was running 40 forged companies in a single room in Janakpuri and evading a tax of Rs 100 crore and was involved in Rs 1,000 crore of business and its connection might be of hawala racket. Kumar was transferred soon after he unearthed this racket, by the Centre without consulting the Delhi government," he said.
"(Narendra) Modi government has directly taken charge of the transfer-posting business which we had stopped. I want to ask Modiji whether he would let an elected Delhi government run under pressure of strong lobbies.
"It is wrong that an elected government cannot select even its VAT Commissioner. This is not democracy, but dictatorship. Delhi cannot be run by dictatorship. It is an elected government's prerogative to choose VAT commissioner," he said.
Days after the Home Ministry issued transfer orders to the four IAS officers of the AGMUT (Arunachal Pradesh-Goa-Mizoram and Union Territory) cadre, Delhi government yesterday issued relieving orders to Kumar, Deputy Commissioner (North MCD) Padma Jaiswal, Special Commissioner (F&S) B R Singh and Deputy Commissioner (East District) Kunal.
The relieving orders were issued after Lt Governor Najeeb Jung ordered to relieve them of their duties ignoring Kejriwal's request to not transfer the VAT Commissioner.
Kumar has been transfered to Lakshadweep while three other IAS officers have been sent to Goa.
