The Delhi Assembly on the first day of its monsoon session Thursday passed a resolution moved by the Aam Aadmi Party MLA Sanjeev Jha asking the Ministry of Home Affairs to reverse the appointment of senior IPS officer Rakesh Asthana as the national capital’s Police Commissioner. The Delhi Police fall under the control of the Union Home Ministry.
Asthana, an officer of Gujarat cadre who was serving as the Director-General of the Border Security Force was appointed on Tuesday, just three days before his retirement. The ministry order on Tuesday evening said he would head the Delhi Police with a year’s extension in service granted ‘in public interest,’ The Hindu reported.
Hitting out at the Centre over Gujarat-cadre IPS officer Rakesh Asthana’s appointment as the Delhi Police Commissioner, the Congress on Wednesday said it was in ‘direct contravention’ of a Supreme Court judgment and asked whether any ‘quid pro quo’ was involved.
S’In 2019, the SC ruled that no officer with less than six months of tenure left should be named for a top job. In fact, Asthana was the front-runner for being the CBI Chief in May 2019, but was dropped after the top court pointed the same in its ruling,’ The Tribune quoted Sanjeev Jha, an MLA from Burari.
Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera attacked the Union government for the move and said, ‘despite being apprised of this, yet again, this government deemed it fit to arbitrarily proceed with the appointment of Rakesh Asthana as the Delhi Police Commissioner,” he said, adding that this is not the first instance of this government indulging in ‘favouritism over merit’,’ NDTV reported.
‘Not just is it an issue of inter-cadre appointment; the issue expands to another instance of blatant disregard towards the Supreme Court of India and the laws of the land,’ Khera added.
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