A disturbing development, says Jayalalithaa

By Our Special Correspondent

CHENNAI, JULY 31. The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Ms. Jayalalithaa, has written to all her counterparts raising the issue of a ``disturbing development in the management of State cadres of All-India Service''. She has sought their views on this subject.

In her letter to the Chief Ministers, a copy of which was released to the press tonight, Ms. Jayalalithaa noted ``If the Government of India were to ignore the State Government's priorities and order the transfer of All-India Service Officers in this arbitrary manner, then managing the State cadres will become very difficult. It is a matter which every State Government should consider seriously and it is for all of us to convey our reactions to the Government of India in no uncertain manner.''

Ms. Jayalalithaa has chosen to nationalise the controversy over the sudden transfer of three senior police officers from Chennai. Even before she could write to the Centre conveying the State's views on the issue, the Chief Minister chose to get in touch with the other States to raise the question as a Centre-State issue.

She said in the letter, ``I hope you would give this matter deep thought and write to the Government of India on this matter which would affect all State Governments seriously. It has wide implications for the future of All-India Services and also Centre-State relations in the country. I shall be grateful if you could let me know your views in the matter as early as possible''.

Ms. Jayalalithaa said: ``You are already aware of the norms and conventions established over the years in the matter of deputation of All-India Service Officers to the Government of India. The list of officers willing to be deputed is forwarded to the Government of India for circulation among the Ministries against vacancies. Thereafter, the selection is made by the Government of India and orders obtained from the Appointment committee of the Cabinet. The State Governments are then informed of the appointments with a request to relieve them to take up the positions.''

``But, suddenly the Government of India has chosen to ignore these long-established norms and conventions and has sought to make these appointments unilaterally and in an arbitrary fashion. This is a very disturbing trend and will dislocate the State administration in more than one way. The State Government has it own priorities and requires the services of good officers,'' she said.

In a reference to the views of Union Ministers on these transfers, Ms. Jayalalithaa wrote ``There has also been reference in the newspapers about responsible Ministers of Government of India talking about invoking Rule 6 of the Indian Police Service Cadre rules to settle scores with officers of the State cadre. The proviso under Rule 6 mentions the overriding powers of the Government of India in case of dispute between the Government of India and the State Governments, and this is sought to be invoked without even waiting for the response of the State Government in the matter. I do not have to go into the political considerations which have prompted such an unfortunate action, since these are only too well known.''

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