Durga Shakti Nagpal (File photo)
Azam Khan, one of the senior-most leaders of Mulayam Singh Yadav's Samajwadi Party, has attacked the ruling Congress, calling its intervention on the Durga Shakti Nagpal suspension an "assault on the federal structure."
The Samajwadi Party, which provides crucial external support to the minority Congress-led UPA government at the Centre, is upset that Congress president Sonia Gandhi has written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asking him to ensure that IAS officer Durga Shakti Nagpal, who was suspended by the Uttar Pradesh government, is fairly treated.
Ms Nagpal, the SDM of Gautam Buddh Nagar, adjacent to Delhi, was suspended two weeks ago for allegedly endangering communal harmony by ordering the demolition of the wall of a mosque being built in a village in Greater Noida. Her supporters allege that she was victimised because she was targeting the area's politically-connected sand mafia.
PM has promised that "there are rules and rules will be followed" and the Centre has also set up an inquiry into illegal sand mining in the state.
The officer's suspension has created a storm with her colleagues across the country demanding that it be revoked. The UP government has, however, defended its action and has taken umbrage at what it calls the hype over Ms Nagpal's suspension.
"See how low they Congress has stooped. Their party President is interfering in village-level matter. The SDM will get a few votes for the Congress. She can get them some fake votes in the next elections wherever she is posted. It's an assault on the federal structure. All states can take their own decisions," Mr Khan, who is a minister in the Akhilesh Yadav government of UP, said today. He has also accused the media of "glorifying" the suspended official as "Durgaji" or the Goddess Durga.
The political tension between the two allies on the issue is expected to impact the Samajwadi Party's decisions on the floor of Parliament, in the monsoon session now on. The party has said it is likely to vote against the Congress' flagship Food Security Bill which was tabled yesterday. The UPA government needs all the support it can garner to push important legislation in Parliament.
The Congress, said, Mr Khan scathingly, "will even tie up with the Sena and BJP to make up numbers." He accused the party of using the Food Security Bill and the Telangana issue for political benefit.