Gupta questions 'sudden disappearance' of Delhi Assembly secretary

Leader of Opposition Vijender Gupta today questioned "sudden and mysterious disappearance" of Delhi Assembly Secretary Prasanna Kumar Suryadevara, even as Speaker Ram Niwas Goel slammed him, saying instead of an officer, BJP should be concerned about the ongoing sealing drive due to which traders are facing hardship.
According to an official who did not wish to be named, the Delhi Assembly secretary has not been coming to office for the last around 10 days.
Gupta, a BJP MLA from Rohini constituency, demanded that either the Delhi government or the Assembly must come "clean" about Suryadevara.
In a statement, the BJP leader said, "His (Suryadevara) disappearance is all the more surprising at this juncture when the Delhi Assembly session (budget) is going to start from Friday.

"Since the secretary of the Assembly occupies an important position and has to play significant role in preparation of the session, any news or order about his absence acquires great significance before start of the session," he said.
In the statement, Gupta also said, "Suryadevara's continuation had become a bone of contention among the Centre, Assembly Speaker, Prasar Bharti and the then LG (Najeeb Jung). When he was repatriated to his parent office by the Centre, the Assembly continued to retain him despite LG's order to the contrary."

Reacting to Gupta's press statement, Goel said the Assembly's secretary is a very "esteemed post", and he should not make "baseless allegations".

"Due to absence of the secretary, no work of the Assembly Secretariat is getting affected. Instead of the Assembly secretary, the BJP should be concerned about the ongoing sealing drive due to which city traders are facing a lot of problems," Goel said.
Suryadevara had also served as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to Somnath Chatterjee when he was the Lok Sabha Speaker.
Before moving to the Delhi Assembly, Suryadevara served in the Lok Sabha for five years and the Rajya Sabha for over six years through the offices of LS Speaker and RS Chairman respectively.