Centre-AAP row: Delhi home secretary orders tight security

New Delhi, June 15: Delhi's Home Secretary Dharam Pal has ordered security in his office to be beefed up to ensure that files do not end up with Rajendra Kumar, who was appointed home secretary by the AAP government through orders contrary to the union home ministry.

"He (Dharam Pal) has asked the security in-charge of the Delhi Secretariat to deploy more police personnel in his office on the fifth floor," a Delhi government official told IANS.

"He wants to ensure that files in his office remain safe and do not reach Rajendra Kumar," the official added.

An anomalous situation has arisen with both Dharam Pal and Rajendra Kumar acting as the home secretary in the city government. There have been times when both officials have signed files on the same order.

The Aam Aadmi Party government had transferred Dharam Pal for appointing Delhi Police Joint Commissioner M.K. Meena as the chief of the Anti-Corruption Branch and appointed Rajendra Kumar in his post. The move was rejected by the Centre.

"Never has it happened here that a home secretary has given such direction," the official said.

Dharam Pal is backed by the union home ministry, which had by its June 11 decree rejected his transfer by the Arvind Kejriwal government.

But the AAP is sticking by its choice.

In his reply to the union home ministry, Chief Minister Kejriwal wrote that posting of senior bureaucrats was indeed the prerogative of the central government, but the discretion of allocating work to them was with the city government.

He also said it was up to the judiciary to decide whether the transfer was void since the issue was in court.

IANS