Nagpal suspension row: Officers have to be punished for mistakes, says Akhilesh

Hours after Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh made it clear that rules will be followed in the matter concerning suspension of Indian Administrative Officer (IAS) officer Durga Shakti Nagpal, a defiant Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav on Monday said the officers are punished if they make mistakes.

"If an officer makes a mistake, he or she is punished, just like children are punished in school. That is how a government works," he said.

Commenting on Nagpal's suspension, the Prime Minister earlier in the day said the rules will be followed.

"There are rules laid down and the rules will be followed. And we are in touch with the state government to find out the full details of the case," Dr. Singh told media in New Delhi.

The Prime Minister's remark came hours after the Uttar Pradesh Government slapped a chargesheet accusing Nagpal of flouting norms and lacking administrative acumen.

According to reports, a copy of the chargesheet along with a report has been sent to the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) at the Centre.

The Samajwadi Party government's 10-page chargesheet accuses Nagpal of violating norms while ordering the demolition of the wall of a mosque built illegally on government land at Gautam Budh Nagar in Greater Noida.

The chargesheet came a day after Congress President Sonia Gandhi wrote a letter to the Prime, asking him to ensure that the suspended bureaucrat is treated fairly.

The Congress Party yesterday hit out at the Samajwadi Party for attacking Sonia Gandhi for her support to Nagpal, and said the ruling party in Uttar Pradesh is trying to hide what is essentially a case of corruption and illegal mining.

Congress spokesperson Sandeep Dikshit also dismissed Samajwadi Party's comments that Gandhi should also write a letter in support of Ashok Khemka, the Haryana IAS officer who had scrapped her son-in-law Robert Vadra's controversial land deals and was transferred.

Nagpal was suspended last month ostensibly for taking on the sand mafia and for ordering the demolition of a wall of a mosque that was being built on government land in the state's Gautam Buddh Nagar District, where she was posted as Sub-Divisional Magistrate.