UP govt right in suspending IAS officer Durga Nagpal: Akhilesh Yadav

Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Thursday defended his government’s decision to suspend IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal and said there would be no reconsideration of the decision.

Speaking after a cabinet meeting in Lucknow, Yadav said that the government was under no pressure from any particular lobby to suspend the officer and added that her suspension was not related to illegal sand mining.

“If the communal harmony in the state is going to be affected, we have to take action,” Yadav told reporters.

He further defended his government’s decision saying the government will always act if there was any violation of environment laws in the state.

“If someone tries to spread communal disharmony the officer will not be spared,” Yadav said.

The Chief Minister said that a Muslim family had built wall which had been demolished due to the orders of the IAS official, which was not fair, he said.

Yadav also refuted criticism from the BSP saying that a political party that had indulged in corruption during its tenure could not give lessons in honesty.

Meanwhile, Minister of State for Personnel and Public Grievances V Narayanasamy said his ministry would wait for the complete state government’s report before taking any action.

“We are awaiting the report from the state government, we will ensure that all rules are followed,” he said.

Nagpal, who had clamped down on illegal mining and taken on the powerful sand mafia in Uttar Pradesh, had been suspended on Monday, barely 10 months after she got her first posting in the state.

A 2009-batch IAS officer posted as Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) of Gautam Budh Nagar in September last year, she was penalised, ostensibly for the demolition of a wall at a disputed place of worship.

Slamming the Samajwadi Party government, Opposition parties alleged that the suspension order was made under pressure from the sand mining mafia.

BSP Chief Mayawati said that the Centre as well as the Uttar Pradesh Governor should intervene in the matter and ensure that the officer is reinstated.

However, Samajwadi Party leaders have continued to maintain that her suspension was justified and said that the action was taken because her actions could have incited communal tensions.