Manish Tewari backs suspended IAS officer Durga

Says Punjab needs officers like Nagpal where a lot of illegal mining is going on

Congress leader and Information and Broadcasting Minister Manish Tewari on Tuesday supported Uttar Pradesh Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Durga Shakti Nagpal for taking on the sand mafia in Noida.

"The bureaucracy works according to the law of the land. Officers like her who deal with aberrations, who check illegalities, should be saluted and not suspended," Tewari told reporters here.

Questioned about illegal mining in Punjab, the Congress MP from Ludhiana said the state needs officers like Nagpal to curb the malpractice.

"We wish we had a few officers like Nagpal in Punjab where a lot of illegal mining is going on," he said.

Nagpal, a 28-year-old 2009 batch officer of the IAS, was suspended by the Uttar Pradesh government July 29.

The state government said she was suspended because she ordered the demolition of a mosque wall, and this could have led to communal tensions. Nagpal has denied the charge.

As the suspension led to public outcry, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said in Parliament that rules that have been laid down will be followed.

Congress president Sonia Gandhi wrote to the prime minister to ensure fair treatment to the woman officer.