Notice to govt think tank chief for ‘misusing’ his office; AAP hits back | Latest News Delhi - Hindustan Times
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Notice to govt think tank chief for ‘misusing’ his office; AAP hits back

ByAlok KN Mishra
Oct 17, 2022 11:53 PM IST

The notice was served over 30 days after Parvesh Sahib Singh, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP from West Delhi, lodged a complaint with Delhi lieutenant governor (LG) VK Saxena, alleging that Shah was using his office for political activities like attending political debates on TV on behalf of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party.

Jasmine Shah, vice-chairperson of the Delhi Dialogue and Development Commission, a government think tank, was served a notice on Monday for allegedly using a public office for political activities, which amount to misuse of public resources, according to a document seen by HT.

Notice to govt think tank chief for ‘misusing’ his office; AAP hits back
Notice to govt think tank chief for ‘misusing’ his office; AAP hits back

The notice was served over 30 days after Parvesh Sahib Singh, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP from West Delhi, lodged a complaint with Delhi lieutenant governor (LG) VK Saxena, alleging that Shah was using his office for political activities like attending political debates on TV on behalf of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party.

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The DDC has been behind the formulation of various policies of the Delhi government and its vice-chairperson holds the rank of a minister.

The notice served by Vijendra Singh Rawat, director, planning, asked Shah to reply within seven days. “Jasmine Shah is hereby asked to explain his position in the matter within seven days of receipt of this memorandum, failing which it will be assumed that Jasmine Shah has nothing to submit in the matter, and further necessary action will be taken in accordance with law,” the notice read.

In a statement, Shah said: “I have seen the notice issued by the planning department of the Delhi government, on behest of the LG and BJP MP Pravesh Verma. The LG has no jurisdiction over the office of the vic -chairperson, DDC, which is a minister-rank position appointed by the Delhi Cabinet. DDC’s terms of reference make it clear only the chief minister has the power to remove the vice chairperson, DDC. In issuing this notice, the LG has exceeded his jurisdiction.

In a separate statement, an AAP spokesperson said: “This is yet another attack on Delhi government due to AAP’s rising graph in Gujarat. The LG has no answers to rising crime and garbage mountains in Delhi, but issues a letter everyday targeting the work of Delhi government.”

Singh had requested Saxena, in a letter written on September 13, to remove Shah from the post because he was working as an AAP spokesperson. Singh had also cited how Shah violated the Rule 5 of the Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, 1964, by acting as an official spokesperson of the AAP, attending TV debates.

The planning department of the Delhi government, which is in charge of the DDC, carried out an inquiry, which found that Shah had been using the government office to further an extremely partisan political agenda, contrary to the laid down norms for conduct of a public servant, an official said, seeking anonymity.

The findings were sent to chief secretary Naresh Kumar, who referred it to the law department. “The law department gave its opinion in this matter and opined that Jasmine Shah was a public servant and not working on an honorary post,” the official said.

The law department also concluded that the post was covered under the definition of public servant under clause 12(A) of Section 21 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 2(C)(i) of the Prevention of Corruption Act, the official said. HT has not seen the observation of the law department on the file.

According to the notice seen by HT, the terms of reference of the DDC include advising the Delhi government on governance and technological solutions to various problems affecting Delhi, and to formulate and aid in the formulation of various initiatives relating to development and resource mobilization, among others.

The report of the law and planning departments were scrutinized by the chief secretary and sent to Saxena, who instructed that Shah be handed a notice to explain his alleged misconduct before initiating any further action, another official aware of the matter said.

Meanwhile, Singh demanded that Shah should be sacked. “Even after being public servant, he acted as official spokesperson of Aam Aadmi Party and furthered political gains of political party. Such act must not be tolerated and the person must be sacked with immediate effect,” said Singh.

The AAP government constituted the DDC through a cabinet decision on February 27, 2015. Since its formation, the think tank has submitted a number of policy reports and recommendations to the government, including the Delhi Solar Policy, leveraging technology for dengue vector surveillance, Delhi electric vehicle policy, piloting of battery electric buses, etc.

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