Bengaluru: Going by the signals emanating from the most powerful man in the state, Chief Secretary Arvind Jadhav who is caught in a controversy over murky land deals, is unlikely to get the extension he seems to be very keen on.
Refusing to get drawn into the controversies pertaining to Mr Jadhav, Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said his government was in the process of selecting a new Chief Secretary and also cleverly shifted the responsibility of giving the CS an extension to the Centre.
When reporters asked him if the government's image had been tarnished with senior bureaucrats involved in covert mudslinging against each other, Mr Siddaramaiah said the issue was mainly being discussed in the media.
“The Centre had given a three-month extension to him (Mr Jadhav), which will be over by the month-end. We have to select a new Chief Secretary after that and we will do that,” he said.
At the end of his first extension, Mr Jadhav had sought another which is now unlikely to happen with the Chief Minister clearly indicating that government was not interested in continuing with the ‘tainted officer’ in the top bureaucrat’s post Delhi trip: Mr Siddaramaiah said that he would be going to Delhi on Friday on an official trip. When asked if he would complete the appointments to posts in state-run boards and corporations, the CM said that he would discuss the issue with party leaders, if time permits.
When asked about the forthcoming one-day session on GST, the CM said the state legislature will ratify only the GST bill on that day. The bill has already been passed in Parliament.
‘‘This is a baby of the previous Congress led UPA government baby and 50% of states have to ratify the bill to implement it. If the state government incurs any loss of revenue, the Centre has to bear it. All minor issues would be discussed in the GST Council, after the bill becomes law,” he added.
