Subramanian Swamy attacks UP govt on IAS officer suspension issue

NEW DELHI: BJP leader Subramanian Swamy today hit out at the Uttar Pradesh government for suspending a senior IAS official over a controversial letter convening a meeting to discuss "reconstruction" of Ram Temple in Ayodhya.

Following the controversy, the UP Government had first transfered IAS officer Sarvesh Chandra Mishra on Saturday and then suspended him yesterday.

"I condemn the UP government for suspending a senior official for carrying out his duty as per commitment given by the Union Government to the Supreme Court in 1994," Swamy said.

Mishra, a 1997-batch IAS officer, was the Home Secretary of Uttar Pradesh before he was shunted out on Saturday.

"The reason given for suspending the senior official is his circular to the state officials to convene a meeting to draw up a plan to build a Ram temple... The circular is consistent with the commitment of the central government made to the Supreme Court in 1994," Swamy said in a statement.

The UP government had said yesterday that Mishra mentioned a "wrong and extremely misleading subject on a disputed issue in the letter regarding a meeting to be chaired by the Principal Secretary (Home) on October 14, and signed it".