The war between former home secretary R K Singh and Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde escalated on Thursday with the Union Home Ministry withdrawing around 10 officers, including security personnel, given to the retired bureaucrat.
For the first time, Shinde reacted to Singh’s allegation that he, as the home minister, tried to jeopardise the investigations into the IPL match-fixing scam, interfered with the transfers and postings of Delhi Police and that he was in touch with a Dawood aide.
Though he refused to elaborate, Shinde sought to debunk the allegations saying they were politically motivated.
The personal staff of the former home secretary, mostly drawn from different paramilitary forces, were withdrawn a day after Singh claimed that Shinde was not capable of remaining as a minister.
Singh had retained the staff even after his retirement for various secretarial work and domestic chores. Sources said the staff have been asked to report to their respective organisations immediately.
A retired bureaucrat is not allowed to retain personal staff. However, the former Home Secretary, who retired on June 30 last year and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) recently, will continue to enjoy the security cover of the Delhi Police, sources said.
‘A BJP man’
In his reaction, Shinde said he no longer considered Singh as a former home secretary but saw him as a politician and BJP man.
“Singh is now a political man. His allegations are political in nature. He is now with the BJP. I do not see him as a former home secretary but as a BJP man. I will not react to his allegations,” he told reporters here.
The Minister said his party and ministerial colleagues had already reacted to Singh’s allegations. The Congress has questioned the “opportunistic” and “low” behaviour of the officer.
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