Alleging that some officials “close” to the state government were “acting as BJP workers”, Congress leader Virbhadra Singh today asked the Election Commission to remove such employees to ensure free and fair polls.
HPCC chief Virbhadra Singh in his letter to Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) VS Sampath, urged to remove all the officers having affiliation with the BJP who had been given choicest postings with an eye on the Assembly poll.
In a letter to Sampath, Singh has pointed out that an officer, Arun Sharma, who remained the Principal Private Secretary to Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal for over nine years, had been made the Deputy Commissioner of Shimla and he was also holding the charge of the Tourism Department. Amitabh Awasthi and JR Katwal, who worked in the Chief Minister Office, Kullu, were made Deputy Commissioners of Kullu and Una, respectively.
KR Bharti, who hails from the home district of the Chief Minister and has worked in the Chief Minister’s Office, has been made the Deputy Commissioner of the biggest and most important Kangra district. Another officer, Sunil Chaudhary, owing close allegiance to the Chief Minister, had been posted as the Deputy Commissioner of Chamba district and Chander Shekhar had been posted as SP, Shimla, on political considerations.
In his letter to CEC, Singh said that the most of these officers were not from the IAS and the IPS but are working against cadre posts and they need to be shifted immediately. Earlier CLC has transferred two officers Deputy Commissioner and a Superintendent of Police over his complaint as well.
Virbhadra also drew attention to the fact that the state government had given re-employment to a number of retired officers who were given key positions in the departments of Public Relations, Prosecution, Planning, PWD, IPH and even in the state Vidhan Sabha on purely political considerations. He demands to remove all these officers on re-employment.
