New Delhi, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday assured the IAS officers of their safety and security and urged them to “return to work” and attend ministers’ meetings.
“I wish to assure them that I will ensure their safety and security with all my powers and resources available at my command. I have given similar assurances earlier also to many officers who have been meeting me privately. I reiterate it today,” Kejriwal said in a letter posted on his Twitter account.
The IAS Officers’ Association had earlier in the day told reporters that they feared for their safety under this government and had alleged that despite cases of assault on civil servants, there has been no assurance from the Chief Minister.
“We all had various experiences of assault. We will not attend a meeting if we are not feeling safe. We have gone out of the way to ensure that public do not suffer, their work does not suffer, but we will not work at the cost of our life.
“We don’t go to places where we don’t feel safe. We need a culture of trust to work,” IAS Association Secretary Manisha Saxena, who is a Divisional Commissioner and Secretary, Arts, Culture, Languages, had told reporters on Sunday afternoon.
She also refuted Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders’ charge of civil servants being on strike, saying officers are attending all the statutory meetings and also working overtime.
Assuaging them with the promise of their safety, Kejriwal urged the bureaucrats to stop boycotting the government and start meeting the ministers and take their phone calls.
“They should work without fear or pressure. They should not come under any pressure from any sources whether state government or Central government or any political party,” he added.
Also on Sunday, AAP led a massive protest rally through the heart of the city demanding from the Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his intervention in the matter and persuading the bureaucrats to return to work.
