SHIELA DIKSHIT PRAISES DELHI’S IAS OFFICERS/ Says: they transformed Delhi

The three time chief minister of Delhi, an octogenerian but still energetic Shiela Dikshit has once again stood in favour of the IAS lobby of Delhi, but while stronly rebuking the statement of the current chief minister of AAP government in Delhi Arvind Kejrival who had the other day accused over 90 percent of the Delhi’s IAS officers of doing nothing except creating obstacles in the way of development by sitting over the files.

Former Delhi CM Shiela Dikshit, the daughter in law of the former late Union Minister late Umashankar Dikshit and the wife of an IAS officer while deploring Kejrival’s aspersions against the Delhi IAS officers came down openly in their support saying that he is absolutely wrong on this count as Delhi comprises of best IAS Officers who’d been immensely supportive, intellectually and dedicatedly contributive and extremely cooperative in transforming Delhi as one of the magnificient cities’ of the world may they be the timely and outstanding execution of metro rail projects, building of several flyovers in easing the Delhi’s traffic bottlenecks, in the successful implementation of Bhagidaari initiative, successful conduction of prestigious common wealth games and in various other sectors of women and child development, pensions, education, Health and widespread roads’ development, water, power, transport and below powerty line schemes of his then government. Rating Delhi’ s bureaucracy as one of the best Shiela Dikshit says that one should have the capacity and capability to involve the bureaucracy in decision making and giving them full say in implementing projects of development instead of keeping them under constant regulation or threat of job security.

It may be recalled that it was only because of the smooth relationship the former CM had with the bureaucrats during her protracted 15 year old tenure that she was able to implement various modern infrastructural projects in Delhi including several pro minorities and pro people schemes and as a result ruled the capital from 1998 till 2013 for three terms which once used to be the political stronghold of the Bhartiya Janata Party. Shiela Dikshit lost Delhi due to Common Wealth games’ scams’ and an urge of the Delhi electorates for change after 15 long years of a single party rule. The corruption at the then central government loaded with several Scams also added fuel to fire and Shiela Dikhit herself lost to Kejrival from Gole Market, legislative constituency apart from her party’s complete defeat in Delhi. However, after AAP’s return, the Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejrival had always been at loggerheads with the state’s IAS lobby and the then LG Mr. Jung who ultimately volunteered and resigned.

If we analyse the overall performance of Arvind Kejrival with the previous government of the Congress led by Shiela Dikshit, there isn’t an inkling of doubt that on the health and educational front including giving concessions on water and electricity the Delhi government has done tremendously well but nothing has been executed in the infrastructural front as used to be the case during the Shiela Dikshit regime. Moreover, the confrontation between the centre and the state with the former creating absolute bottlenecks on the developmental road of Delhi is also the main reason why the AAP government is not been able to implement its various promises given to the Delhi electorates during the elections. Now take the case of arbitrary increase of the metro rail fares, despite the Delhi CM ready to give 1500 crores to partially cover the annual losses the centre is not prepared to cooperate. Similarly despite the Delhi Assembly passing the bill for regularisation of the services of 15000 teachers the centre is not prepared to ratify it.

SUNIL NEGI