By IANS,
Lucknow: With the Supreme Court questioning the appointment of non-civil service officer Shashank Shekhar Singh as Uttar Pradesh’s cabinet secretary, opposition parties Saturday demanded an inquiry into all the decisions taken by him on behalf of the state government.
“As the apex court has raised question over the validity of the appointment, the state government automatically comes in the dock. Be it decisions related to land acquisition or other policy matters, Shashank Shekhar Singh has taken them all on behalf of the government,” Samajwadi Party spokesperson Rajendra Chaudhary told reporters here.
“The people of state now want to know why he was chosen by Mayawati as the cabinet secretary in 2007. We demand an immediate inquiry into the decisions taken by him as we believe he has misled the public on several occasions,” he added.
Echoing similar views, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state president Surya Pratap Shahi said that by appointing Shashank Shekhar Singh, the Mayawati government has made a mockery of constitutional norms.
“It must be probed why even after having several efficient civil servants, the government first created the post that has no mention in any rule book and then appointed a non-civil servant to make the policy decisions,” he told reporters in Bahraich town, around 200 km from here.
Congress spokesperson Akhilesh Pratap Singh said: “The cabinet secretary post in Mayawati government is considered to the most key position. There seems no logic to appoint a non-cadre based official for a post that hold accountability to the public of the most populous state.”
“An independent inquiry must be initiated to look into the decisions taken by Shashank Shekhar Singh who, in a way, represents the government,” he added.
Ruling on a public interest litigation (PIL) that challenged Shashank Shekhar Singh’s appointment, the Supreme Court Friday asked Uttar Pradesh government under what rules he had been appointed.
The petition contended that Shashank Shekhar Singh is a former pilot and had no civil service experience to occupy the post. He was appointed soon after Mayawati took over as chief minister on May 13, 2007.