Jaipur : As the Rajasthan government gave a three-month extension to Chief Secretary C.S. Rajan, another senior IAS officer on Thursday said he had been discriminated against due to his caste and sought voluntary retirement from service. He also said he would convert to Islam.
Umrao Salodia – a 1978-batch IAS officer in race to become the state chief secretary – is presently the chairman of Rajasthan State Road Transport Corporation.
“For the first time after Independence, myself, an IAS officer from the Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes category, would have been appointed today (December 31) as the chief secretary of Rajasthan on the basis of seniority.
“Instead, to deny this opportunity to me, Chief Secretary C.S. Rajan has been given a three-month extension till March 31, 2016, by the state government after the approval of the government of India,” Salodia said in a letter addressed to Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje and the Centre’s department of personnel.
Rajan was scheduled to retire on Thursday.
“…I hereby apply for voluntary retirement… sanction my voluntary retirement so that I do not have to function under a junior,” Salodia said in the letter. He is slated to retire on June 30, 2016.
Addressing a press conference here, Salodia said he faced discrimination since he is a Dalit, adding that he would embrace Islam.