UP government defends IAS officer's suspension

The Uttar Pradesh government Wednesday defended the suspension of IAS official Durga Shakti Nagpal and said any official found wanting in his or her duties would be dealt with in a similar manner.

Shivpal Yadav, public works department (PWD) minister and uncle of Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav, said Nagpal had taken a unilateral decision to raze the wall of an under-construction mosque and had jeopardized law and order in the area.

"The suspension is an administrative order and has been taken after due consideration," he said, and added that it was completely wrong to link the matter with illegal mining.

"There is no connection of Nagpal's suspension with any mining activity," he said.

Nagpal was suspended Sunday after she took on the sand mafia in Noida in Uttar Pradesh.

He added that a similar fate awaited officials "even as high ranking as collectors" if they did not discharge their duties.

"Our government is clear that nobody will be allowed to function in a manner that risks communal harmony and creates bitterness amongst social groups," he added.

When asked about the statement of his cousin and Rajya Sabha member Ram Gopal Yadav that the decision to suspend Nagpal appeared hasty and should be reviewed, Shivpal Yadav said the chief minister had cleared the stand of the government.

Yadav, who enjoys the number two position in the Akhilesh Yadav government and holds 11 powerful portfolios, was Wednesday unusually put up by the Samajwadi Party (SP) to interact with the press on Nagpal's suspension.

The chief minister earlier met SP chief Mulayam Singh Yadav and the two are reported to have firmed up their views on the matter, which has stung the ruling party.

Sources said the party leadership had taken unkindly to public posturing by bureaucrats and the IAS association in favour of the suspended official.

"We cannot allow officials to gang up like this against the government," said an SP leader who confided that the party chief and the chief minister were "very miffed" at the developments following Nagpal's suspension.

"It is entirely an administrative matter and should be treated as that. I see very dim chances of the government revoking the suspension," the leader told IANS.

Nagpal, the sub-divisional magistrate of Gautam Budh Nagar in Noida, reported for duty at the revenue board where she was attached following her suspension. However, she is not spending much time in office, officials said.