Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal wants whistleblower Forest Service officer Sanjeev Chaturvedi as his OSD

NEW DELHI: Setting stage for a potential conflict between the BJP-led Centre and the AAP administration in Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal has written to Union environment minister Prakash Javadekar seeking immediate transfer of whistleblower Indian Forest Service officer Sanjeev Chaturvedi to his chief minister's office as Officer on Special Duty.

Chaturvedi, who was a crusading chief vigilance officer at AIIMS, was sacked by the Modi government soon after it came to power. He is currently a deputy director with AIIMS.

ET had reported that last Friday, a day before Kejriwal was sworn in, Chaturvedi filed a petition with Central Appellate Tribunal accusing the Modi government of obstructing his inter-cadre shift from Haryana to Uttarakhand. The petition accused the government of "abruptly" removing him as AIIMS CVO and hounding him under the "pressure of vested interests" against whom he had initiated action.
Kejriwal's letter to Javadekar on Tuesday requests him to personally look into the matter and act at the earliest. It also mentions that Chaturvedi has given his consent to be the OSD of Kejriwal.

However, the procedural route for shifting Chaturvedi from AIIMS to Kejriwal's CMO could prove politically challenging. It needs to be okayed by the health ministry led by JP Nadda — who has been personally accused by Chaturvedi for the reason behind his ouster as CVO — and the MoEF before it goes to the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet that has PM Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh as members.

Chaturvedi refused to comment for this story saying service rules prohibit him from talking to media. IFS officer Sanjeev Chaturvedi had sought inter-cadre change alleging hounding by the erstwhile Bhupinder Singh Hooda-led government in Haryana for unravelling several scams in the state.