Firing of babus shows power has gone to Modi government's head: Congress

NEW DELHI: Congress today came down heavily on the Centre over the way it was removing top bureaucrats from their posts and alleged that power had gone to the head of the Narendra Modi dispensation.

Party spokesman P C Chacko told reporters that the way the government was going, it could face a difficult time ahead if it went on antagonising top bureaucrats.

Chacko, however, did not go into the matter of the removal of Union Home Secretary Anil Goswami last night.

Goswami was shown the door in the wake of the controversy over his alleged attempt to stall the arrest of Saradha scam accused Matang Sinh, a former Congress minister at the Centre.

Chacko said what needs to be seen was that this is the sacking of the fifth such bureaucrat under the present regime.

"Power has gone to their head," he said referring to the government.

If sacking of bureaucrats continues, then no self- respecting officer would like to work in the government and administration would suffer because it would not be able to run without the bureaucracy, he said.

Goswami, a 1978-batch IAS officer of Jammu and Kashmir cadre, was appointed as the Home Secretary in 2013 during the previous UPA Government. He was said to have been close to Matang Sinh, a controversial politician from Assam who was a Minister of State for Home in PV Narasimha Rao's government.