With the budget session of the Delhi Assembly scheduled to start from Friday, the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly Vijender Gupta questioned the “sudden and mysterious” disappearance of Prasanna Kumar Suryadevara, the “controversial Secretary” of the Assembly here on Tuesday.
‘Bone of contention’
His continuation in office, Mr. Gupta pointed out, had become a bone of contention for the Centre, the Assembly Speaker, Prasar Bharti and the former Delhi Lieutenant-Governor.
Mr. Suryadevara, originally an officer of Newsreader-cum-Translator (Telugu) cadre, was appointed to the post of Delhi Assembly Secretary in July 2016 for a year.
However, Prasar Bharti expressed its inability to extend the deputation and asked the Delhi government to repatriate him saying it was in dire need of experienced professionals.
Then L-G Najeeb Jung had issued an order to repatriate Mr. Suryadevara, after which Speaker Delhi Assembly Ram Niwas Goel had approached the Delhi High Court and filed a writ petition.
Matter in High Court
“When he was repatriated to his parent office by the Centre, the Assembly continued to retain him despite the L-G’s order to the contrary. Later, the Speaker went to the Delhi High Court against the repatriation. The matter is still being heard in the Court, which had made strong observations some days back against his continuation in the Assembly,” Mr. Gupta said.
The Rohini legislator expressed “surprise” that the Secretary had “not been attending” office for the last many days “without proper office order” from either the Delhi Assembly or the Delhi Secretariat.
His “disappearance” was, Mr. Gupta argued, all the more surprising at a juncture when the Delhi Assembly budget session was to start from Friday.
“Since the Secretary of the Assembly occupies an important position and plays a significant role in preparation of the [budget] session, any news or order about his absence acquires great significance before start of the session,” Mr. Gupta added.
He demanded that the government or the Assembly come clean about the Assembly Secretary, adding that he wanted to know if he had been relieved from his duties and repatriated.
The Speaker said he did not want to comment on the matter and that on Friday, when the Delhi Assembly’s budget session is set to begin, it will be “clear who is the Secretary”. Mr. Goel added that it was the Speaker’s prerogative to appoint the Assembly Secretary.
Mr. Suryadevara did not respond to a request for a comment.
