In a major showdown, bureaucrats in the state told Chief Minister N. Kiran Kumar Reddy and his council of ministers to either “reverse or reconfirm” high-stake decisions taken by the government favouring private projects that are now being investigated by the CBI.
The bureaucrats on Friday virtually launched a revolt against their political masters, who they said are being “let off” by the CBI while “civil servants are made scapegoats”. More than 50 IAS officers belonging to the IAS Association met the CM to express their anguish and concern at the manner in which the CBI is carrying out investigations. They also submitted a memorandum requesting that he ensures an environment in which they can work without fear (of being implicated in CBI cases).
Since important decisio-ns of the government have substantial financial implications, the association said these decisions could not have been taken without the explicit approval of the politicians. “These decisions could not have been implemented without explicit or tacit approval of ministers concerned,” the memorandum said. The bureaucrats said that it was not fair that they should be held responsible for decisions the CBI found to be irregular when they have only processed the paper work.
“The beneficiaries of such allegedly irregular decisions continue to reap benefits while the IAS officers who processed the paper work are harassed with investigation,” said the Association’s vice-president Prasant Mahapatro, who addressed the media along with Association secretary Raymond Peter.
