Apart from finance secretary, Sanjeev Nandan Sahai had taken up several assignments including that of acting chief secretary, home and finance secretary within the AAP government.
Delhi finance secretary Sanjeev Nandan Sahai has been transferred and appointed as additional secretary in the Union Ministry of Power, as per an order issued Wednesday by the Department of Personnel and Training. The Delhi BJP, however, claimed that Sahai sought the transfer as bureaucrats couldn’t work with the AAP government.
While Sahai refused to comment, sources close to him said “the transfer had nothing to do with politics and was in normal course.”
Sahai, along with Delhi chief secretary Anshu Prakash, is a 1986-batch IAS officer. Apart from finance secretary, he had taken up several assignments including that of acting chief secretary, home and finance secretary within the AAP government.
BJP MLA and leader of opposition in the Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta claimed that 22 IAS officers leaving the Delhi government, before completing their tenure, was a clear sign that officials couldn’t work with AAP.
“There is hardly any workable communication and interaction between political leaders and the bureaucracy. Most of the IAS and DANICS officers are not willing to work with the Kejriwal government and are yearning to get out at the earliest opportunity,” he claimed.
However, a senior AAP leader said, “Right now, in this present climate, why would any officer want to work with us? Sahai was a rare officer… he looked to do his work without taking sides.” Sources in the AAP maintained that Sahai had played an active role in drafting the AAP government’s budgets. Before his transfer, Sahai was also appointed head of the IAS association in Delhi.