Bhopal, Aug 20 As the assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh are nearly three months away, the main opposition Congress has accused incumbent Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan of misusing state administration for political gain.
The Congress also raised apprehension on the role of Madhya Pradesh chief secretary Iqbal Singh Bains questions that why an officer whose service period was over in November 2022, is being given extension (of service) time and again? “Is there no other IAS officer in Madhya Pradesh who can replace Iqbal Singh Bains,” Congress leader and Rajya Sabha MP Vivek Tankha asked.
Renowned senior advocate, who is also a member of political affairs committee of state Congress, briefing the press at party headquarters on Sunday asserted that CM Chouhan “is fully dependent on chief secretary Iqbal Singh Bains to set his political agenda.” He added, “In such a situation, the officer (CS) applies all his mind to favour the chief minister and the ruling party.”
Citing the recent observation of the the Supreme Court on Enforcement Directorate (ED) chief Sanjay Mishra’s extension, Tankha said, “Chief Secretary Iqbal Singh Bains should resign from the post on moral ground, and if he does not do so till the next Saturday, we will be forced to proceed to challenge his extension in service in legal way.”
The Congress leader leveled a serious allegation on Bains of “spoiling the CR” of officers who do not follow his “wrong” directions. “You (Iqbal Singh Bains) are the Chief Secretary of MP, not of CM Shivraj or BJP. You have a bad attitude with your colleagues. You are spoiling the CR of those who do not accept your wrong directions,” Tankha’s social media post read.
However, it's not the first time the opposition has questioned the extension of Bains as chief secretary and his role. Recently, a senior Congress MLA Govind Singh, who is also the Leader of Opposition (LoP) in the state Assembly, wrote to the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) demanding Iqbal Singh Bains’ removal from the post.
In his letter to CEC, Congress MLA from Lahar Assembly constituency from Bhind district – Govind Singh has raised his apprehension over “transparency” during the upcoming Assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh.
Notably, the incumbent chief secretary of Madhya Pradesh - Iqbal Singh Bains (1985 batch IAS) was due to retire from his service in November 2022, however, the state government with approval of the Centre has extended (two extensions of six months) his service till November 2023.
--IANS
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