Arvind Kejriwal wants to replace chief secretary Naresh Kumar by PK Gupta

The Delhi government is offended at chief secretary Naresh Kumar ever since he did not attend the Civil Services Board meeting despite the members waiting for him till 9:30 pm.

New Delhi:Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has urged the Centre to appoint PK Gupta as the new chief secretary in place of incumbent Naresh Kumar. Kejriwal has sought consent from the central government through the Lieutenant Governor, secretariat sources said.

A proposal has been sent in this regard on Thursday by Kejriwal. PK Gupta, a 1989 batch IAS officer, is currently serving as the assistant chief secretary in the general administration department of Delhi government. Naresh Kumar, a 1987 batch officer, was posted as the chief secretary in April 2022.

The move comes a week after the Delhi government had removed secretary of the services department, Ashish More, hours after the Supreme Court allowed the Aam Aadmi Party to handle transfer-posting of bureaucrats. But, Ashish More refused to accept the order following which, a proposal regarding his transfer was passed at the meeting of the Civil Services Board and then sent to the Lieutenant Governor for approval. The Lieutenant Governor's office has not taken any decision on the matter till now.

Earlier, Kejriwal in a press conference had warned of action against bureaucrats who obstructed work. Now efforts are on to replace Naresh Kumar by PK Gupta as the new chief secretary, secretariat sources.

Notably, a Civil Services Board meeting was called after the apex court's decision but Naresh Kumar did not attend it. Saurabh Bhardwaj, minister of services department of Delhi government kept waiting for him till 9:30 pm at the Delhi secretariat. But, the meeting could not be conducted in the absence of the chief secretary. Since then, there has been an undercurrent tussle between the chief secretary and the Delhi government.