AAP's Bharadwaj calls for action against Delhi’s vigilance special secretary | Latest News Delhi - Hindustan Times
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AAP's Bharadwaj calls for action against Delhi’s vigilance special secretary

ByAlok KN Mishra
Jun 03, 2023 11:39 PM IST

The officer has been in the eye of the storm since May 13, when Bharadwaj divested him of all duties on graft allegations

Delhi vigilance minister Saurabh Bharadwaj has written to chief minister Arvind Kejriwal seeking disciplinary proceedings against special secretary vigilance YVVJ Rajasekhar, and his removal from the position citing corruption as well as violation of All India Service (AIS) Conduct Rules, 1968, insubordination, and misconduct.

Delhi minister Saurabh Bharadwaj. (File)
Delhi minister Saurabh Bharadwaj. (File)

Bhjaradwaj’s action comes two days after Rajasekhar lodged an FIR at the IP Estate police station against unidentified people for allegedly removing confidential files from his office on May 16 -- a move that Bharadwaj had questioned, calling the sequence of events “false”.

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In his letter dated June 2, Bharadwaj said that he wants to bring to the CM’s attention “repeated and blatant insubordination, undisciplined behaviour, falsification of material facts, and transgression under multiple counts of the AIS Rules” by Rajshekhar. Bharadwaj also attached several documents in the letter to ostensibly substantiate his claims, including details about the allegations against Rajasekhar demanding a bribe for the appointment of a person on compassionate grounds. HT has seen a copy of the letter.

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Rajasekhar not respond to queries seeking comment.

A 2012 batch IAS officer of the AGMUT cadre, Rajasekhar currently serves as special secretary, vigilance and also holds the charge of special secretary services.

The officer has been in the eye of the storm since May 13, when Bharadwaj, who also holds the services portfolio, divested him of all duties, citing allegations of corruption and extortion soon after the Supreme Court gave the power over services to the Delhi government. The officer rejected the graft charges as baseless, and said in a report to the lieutenant governor (LG), chief secretary and others that he was framed using a forged document.

In the letter to the CM, Bharadwaj said, “It may be noted that the said Rajasekhar has a long history of being under the scanner of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) and the Anti-Corruption Branch (ACB) of GNCTD under different corruption-related cases throughout his career.”

Earlier, while divesting Rajasekhar of all duties, the minister had ordered that all assistant directors of vigilance should put up files directly to the vigilance secretary Sudhir Kumar. Referring to that, Bharadwaj said in his letter: “Secretary (Vigilance) was further directed to take custody of all files being held by Special Secretary (Vigilance) apprehending that the latter will resort to tampering and destructing the official records. At no stage… were any instructions issued to Secretary (vigilance) to put up files to the office of the minister. Despite these written orders, YVVJ Rajasekhar has deliberately, wilfully and illegally held hostage umpteen files pertaining to Vigilance Department, seemingly due to ulterior motives. Furthermore, rather than complying with instructions of his superiors and submitting himself to fair investigation, he resorted to concocting false and frivolous stories and sharing them widely in media to undermine the credibility of the functioning of minister in-charge and secretary (vigilance) of Delhi government.”

In the FIR, the official had alleged the files “were copied by unknown people”, shortly after he was shunted out. To be sure, the directorate of vigilance cited an ordinance promulgated by the Centre, that introduces a bundle of new provisions in the GNCTD Act, 1991, effectively nullifying the SC judgement which shifted the authority of controlling bureaucrats in the national capital from the LG to the elected Delhi government. The order to reinstate Rajasekhar was signed by assistant director (caretaking).

Rajasekhar has been at the helm of several probes against the Delhi government, including the now-scrapped Delhi excise policy 2021-22, advertising expenses, alleged instances of the government “spying”, and the expenses made while renovating the CM’s official residence.

The minister in his letter said that Rajasekhar has tried to link the decision to withdraw all work from him with a specific case being investigated by the vigilance department, suggesting ulterior motives without presenting any evidence or fact to substantiate the same. “Rather than submitting himself to a fair investigation, he repeatedly attacked the actions of his minister-in-charge. This amounts to an act of direct insubordination and unethical behaviour on multiple counts. It also begs the question that if he had done nothing wrong, why did he resort to attacking his superiors?” Bharadwaj had tweeted.

Commenting on the development, the president of the Delhi unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Virendra Sachdeva said that the Delhi government was trying to influence and pressure officers involved in the probe against him. “Kejriwal wants to appoint an officer who he can pressure and influence the inquiry to get a clean chit. Therefore, immediately after the May 11 order of the SC, the Delhi government has been stubbornly trying to remove the service and vigilance secretaries. If the vigilance secretary is as corrupt as he has been portrayed, then why did it come to the notice of the CM only after the SC order?” Sachdeva said.

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