New Delhi:
The battle for the reinstatement of suspended Sub-Divisional Magistrate (SDM) Durga Shakti Nagpal has now turned political, with Congress president Sonia Gandhi writing to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asking the Centre to make sure the officer is not "unfairly treated".
The 28-year-old Indian Administrative Service or IAS officer was shunted out by the Uttar Pradesh government for ordering the demolition of a wall that was meant to house a mosque. But supporters of Ms Nagpal, SDM of Gautam Budhha Nagar, say she has been punished for taking on the powerful sand mining mafia in the state.
Mrs Gandhi endorses that sentiment in her letter too, "There is widespread concern because officer in the course of possible duty was standing up to vested interests." (
Read letter)
Despite the Congress chief's indictment of the Samajwadi Party leadership, a crucial United Progressive Alliance (UPA) ally, the Akhilesh Yadav government remained defiant over suspending Ms Nagpal, saying her action threatened communal tension.
Senior Samajwadi Party leader Naresh Agarwal even took a dig at Ms Gandhi, questioning why she hadn't written a letter when IAS officer Ashok Khemka was taken to task for alleging that there were irregularities in land deals involving her son-in-law Robert Vadra. Mr Khemka was transferred by the Congress government in Haryana soon after he ordered a probe - a move which his supporters alleged was part of a witch-hunt.
Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party has dismissed Sonia Gandhi's letter as mere posturing, with party president Rajnath Singh saying the Prime Minister should have acted on his own. He also asked the Akhilesh Yadav government to revoke the suspension, saying the officer was doing her duty and was suspended under pressure from vested interests.
While the major political parties remained busy in a political slugfest over Ms Nagpal's suspension, Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party has gone a step ahead and offered her an election ticket to fight Mulayam Singh Yadav in the next general elections.