By IANS,
New Delhi : Transferring bureaucrats was a prerogative of the state government, the Congress said Tuesday in response to a Haryana official being shunted out days after he ordered a probe into a deal between party president Sonia Gandhi’s son-in-law Robert Vadra and realty giant DLF for Rs.58 crore.
“Transfers and postings of bureaucrats is the prerogative of the state government. The chief secretary would clarify,” Congress general secretary in charge of Haryana B.K. Hari Prasad told IANS.
The Congress leader, appearing to be distance himself from the controversy brewing in the party-led state, said Ashok Khemka was not the only official who had been transferred. There were others as well.
Khemka, who was shunted out by the Haryana government Oct 11 as director general of Land Consolidation and Land Records-cum-inspector general of Registration office, had on Oct 8 initiated a probe into the land deals done by Vadra and his companies in four districts adjoining Delhi.
He was transferred just three days later by the Bhupinder Singh Hooda government as managing director of the Haryana Seeds Development Corp, considered a junior and side-line posting. On Monday (Oct 15), his last day in office, Khemka cancelled the mutation of the plot.
The immediate fallout of the mutation cancellation would be that DLF would not be able get the title of the prime land, measuring over 3.5 acres, transferred to its name. The land will remain in the name of Vadra’s company M/s Sky Light Hospitality.
The land was sold to DLF Sep 18 this year though the agreement to sell was executed in June 2008.