Oppn lashes out at Fadnavis over comment

The Opposition— the Congress and the NCP in Maharashtra lashed out at Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’ statement that the bureaucracy has not been cooperating with the state government.

They also pointed out that more Officers on Special Duty (OSDs) have been appointed in clear breach of rules and Article 309 of the Constitution.

Speaking in his hometown Nagpur, Fadnavis said his government has not been getting the bureaucracy’s cooperation. “In the beginning, the bureaucracy was slow in changing its attitude,” Fadnavis was quoted as saying.

“But slowly, those in higher positions have now started being responsive and the resistance has gone down. But half the lower-level bureaucrats are still stuck in the past,” he said.

“We are taking steps to make them fall in line too. We have suspended over 800 staffers, dismissed over 50 and registered FIRs against over 450 personnel to give a strong message,” the chief minister said.

Leader of Opposition in the Maharashtra Assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil and NCP spokesperson and former labour minister Nawab Malik on Wednesday lashed out at the BJP-Sena dispensation for the state of affairs.

“They are not able to manage and are now shifting blame on bureaucracy,” said Vikhe-Patil, who had served as Agriculture Minister in the erstwhile Congress-NCP Democratic Front government and also the previous Shiv Sena-BJP alliance government.

“How will bureaucrats work if ministers are being given clean chit on every issue?” he said Maharashtra is known for its administration and the state had been blessed with outstanding bureaucrats.

While the Congress-NCP government did not appoint any OSDs in their 15-year tenure, Malik said the current BJP led administration has appointed 100 of them.

“Today, we have more than 100 OSDs attached to various ministers, including half a dozen in the Chief Minister’s Office....day in and day out private persons are being appointed as OSDs," he said.  The NCP spokesperson said Fadnavis does not trust the bureaucracy since he is driven by the Sangh ideology.