more-in Five resolutions have been passed against members of the political executive by the IAS Association in the last two-and-a-half years. The most recent one pertained to the alleged assault on Delhi Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash by some AAP MLAs at Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s residence. The members of the association pointed out that four of the five resolutions arose out of “ill treatment and humiliation” meted out to them by elected representatives of the Aam Aadmi Party. The association said that being badly treated has “become the norm for civil servants serving in the Capital” since the formation of the AAP government in February 2015 and is symptomatic of what both sides now admit is a problematic relationship. “Harassment of members of the bureaucracy has, gradually, become just another part of the job for civil servants serving in Delhi. Resolutions were passed in only very serious episodes, irrespective of the affiliation of the accused member of the political executive. Many similar instances went unreported but are now gradually coming out,” said a senior Delhi government official. The first resolution passed by the association pertained to the alleged physical assault meted out to District Magistrate (north-west) Sanjay Goel by local residents of a village where and anti-encroachment drive was undertaken by him. In the resolution, the association said that “the Secretary to the Lok Sabha MP from North West Delhi” had a hand in the episode. At loggerheads The officers had asked the Chief Minister, Lieutenant-Governor and the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to consider providing additional security to officials undertaking such tasks in future. The rest of the resolutions, the association said, pertained to “illegal actions of AAP leaders and functionaries”. On December 31, 2015, bureaucrats serving in the Delhi government went on mass leave to protest against the suspension of two DANICS-cadre officers. The action was taken against Yashpal Garg, Special Secretary (Prosecution), and Subhash Chandra, posted in the Home Department, for “refusing to sign on a Cabinet decision file” pertaining to a proposed increase in the salary of public prosecutors. Around 200 DANICS officers participated in the mass leave while 70 IAS officers went on half-day leave to show solidarity. The MHA later rendered the suspension orders null and void. On October 17, 2017, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal hit out at the bureaucracy and said that “90% of IAS officers don’t work” and that they tend to create obstacles when it comes to getting work done. Terming his comments “derogatory”, the outfit condemned the statements and other in similar vein such as “IAS officers should be kept on adhoc basis” and “equating the IAS officers to the level of contractual employees, among others.” “The Delhi government was, and continues to be, the proverbial hot potato that not many bureaucrats are in favour of handling, if given a choice. The number of bureaucrats being posted to Delhi but seeking, for instance, study leave over the last three years is unprecedented,” said another official not willing to be named.

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