Arvind Kejriwal may hire ‘outsiders’ to run CMO

New Delhi, June 3 : With at least a dozen senior officers declining to work in the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO), Arvind Kejriwal may bring in officials from outside Delhi or appoint private persons on co-terminus basis.The CMO is currently running short of officers and, if sources in the government are to be believed, it may soon become “officer-less”.
The sources in the CMO said the Chief Minister had approached around 10-12 officers to work in his office, but they politely refused to take up the new assignment, fearing they may also come on the “CBI radar” since the CM’s Principal Secretary Rajendra Kumar and Deputy Secretary Tarun Kumar faced action in an alleged graft case.Both officers were suspended following the CBI case in 2016.
“In view of dearth of officers in the CM’s office, around a dozen bureaucrats were approached, but they declined expressing fear of repression.“In this situation, the Chief Minister will have no option but to hire officers from outside Delhi or co-terminus staff to run his office,” a source in the CM office said.The sources also said Indian Revenue Services officer Sukesh Jain, Officer on Special Duty (OSD) in CM office, has already applied for repatriation to his parent cadre which is likely to be accepted. Additional Secretary Geetika Sharma has been transferred while another additional secretary, Deepak Virmani, has applied for study leave.