New Delhi: Former Delhi Dialogue Commission (DDC) secretary Ashish Joshi on Saturday termed Shakuntala Gamlin’s appointment as Delhi Chief Secretary by Lieutenant Governor Najeeb Jung as ‘unconstitutional’, adding that the tarnished image of a civil servant questions the efficiency of bureaucracy as an institution.
“Gamlin has been known to be a very committed officer. I worked with her when I was in Delhi government. It comes as a surprise that she has been accused of favouring some power companies. But my point is if she was, why has she been given the additional power of Chief Secretary? Honourable Lieutenant Governor is definitely authorised to appoint the Chief Secretary. But the fact that he is pushing for a particular officer’s case is not a good thing to do. This is a confrontation between the people who know the Constitution of India and the people who don’t know,” Joshi told ANI. “Civil service is an institution and it needs to be protected. A tarnished image of a civil servant is dangerous for democracy,” he added. Earlier on Friday, Jung appointed Gamlin as acting Chief Secretary of the city government despite strong reservations by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who had revealed her alleged proximity to BSES discoms. After the order was issued to Gamlin by Jung, the city government accused the LG of bypassing the Chief Minister and the elected government.
