Bareilly:

Samajwadi Party leader Azam Khan has taken a dig at Congress President Sonia Gandhi for writing a letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh over IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal's suspension. Calling the suspension a routine, Khan said, "The Congress has reduced to a level that Sonia Gandhi herself now writes letters in transfer cases. Such suspensions are a matter of routine."

Accusing the media of glorifying Durga as "Durgaji", the Uttar Pradesh minister said her case was highlighted while other such suspensions went unnoticed. "The media has projected Durga as Durgaji. Otherwise in such cases, officers from the level of managing director (MD) to chief engineer get suspended and not even a single line is published," Azam said in Bareilly

The minister said Nagpal's suspension has been blown out of proportion by the television news media and added that there would have been no dispute if the district magistrate had also been suspended. On being asked about the statements made by SP leaders on running the state without IAS officers, he said the number of such officers would be 1,000 to 2,000, but the country was of 125 crore people.

"This is a British system. They had introduced it but they themselves are not using it. Be it China, Europe, America, Japan or the Gulf, this system exists nowhere. Why? Is it only these people (IAS officers) who are just 2000, 3000 or 10000 in number who can run the country? Is the population of over 125 crore illiterate, incapable or fools? They can also run the country," he said.

He also said that the civil service system in the country should be done away with as it was given by the Britishers and does not even exist even in their own country.

Sonia Gandhi had on Saturday written a letter to Manmohan Singh asking him to intervene in the suspension of Durga Shakti Nagpal. Sonia reportedly told the Prime Minister that though the matter is between the Uttar Pradesh government and the IAS officer, the Centre should see how it can intervene in the issue.

"There is a widespread concern because the officer, in the course of her public duties, was seen to be standing up to vested interests engaging in illegal activity," she wrote in a letter to the PM.

The Congress President said the government "must ensure that the officer is not treated unfairly". "The implementation machinery must feel that the conditions are conducive to the delivery of public services without fear or favour. I know that some good beginnings have been made towards administrative reforms, but the issues that have come to be profiled in Ms Nagpal's case also need focus," she added.

source:http://ibnlive.in.com/news