The Hindu : National : BJP displeased with transfer of Gujarat officials

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Wednesday, Oct 17, 2007
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BJP displeased with transfer of Gujarat officials

Manas Dasgupta

AHMEDABAD: The Bharatiya Janata Party has expressed displeasure over the transfer of eight top police and administrative officers in Gujarat by the Election Commission without assigning any reason.

BJP general secretary who is also in charge of Gujarat elections Arun Jaitley said the Commission had the right to issue orders to transfer “partisan to the ruling party” or “tainted” officers away from the posts that could affect the outcome of the elections. He regretted that lately it had become almost a fashion with the Election Commission to order such transfers in any State going to the polls without assigning any reason.

Mr. Jaitley said he was not criticising the Commission’s action in transferring eight officials, but the people had the right to know the reasons behind the move.

He alleged that the Commission had taken the action merely on the basis of complaints of the State Congress and demanded the Commission make public the reasons behind the transfer of Director-General of Police P.C. Pandey and other officers.

BJP State general secretary Jayanti Barot, while describing the transfer move as “unfortunate,” said it was wrong to brand any officer as pro-ruling party. He said all officers, the police or administrative, act independently once the elections were announced.

It was too frivolous to believe that a party could win the elections with the help of the government officers and their postings could never influence the outcome of the polls.

Mr. Jaitley announced a 13-member State parliamentary board of the party under the chairmanship of State president Purshottam Rupala to oversee the election arrangements, including the selection of candidates. The board includes Chief Minister Narendra Modi, but excludes veteran leader Keshubhai Patel, even as Mr. Jaitley insisted that the former Chief Minister was still “very much part of the BJP.”

Asked about Mr. Patel’s utterances against Mr. Modi in Surat and more recently in Bhuj, Mr. Jaitley said it was a “matter of the past.” He blamed the media for projecting Mr. Patel as a critic of Mr. Modi but was non-committal whether Mr. Patel would campaign for the BJP.

Mr. Patel was not available for comment but he had told the dissidents earlier that though he would not quit the BJP, his blessings would be with the anti-Modi forces.

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