Mobilenews24x7 Bureau
Kolkata, Jan 20 : West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday has written a letter
to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, objecting to the amendment of the IAS Act and urging him to withdraw/not give effect to the same.
Banerjee is concerned about the amendment of the IAS Act. She wrote a letter to the Prime Minister
for the second time in a week.
In the letter, she again expressed her displeasure over the Centre’s decision to amend the law.
“I am constrained to invite your kind attention to the issue of IAS Cadre management, yet again,
twice in a week’s time. I had written to you on this, conveying my strong reservations and objections
to the centre’s draft amendment of the IAS Cadre Rules on January 13, 2022, but I have to write
again, further reiterating my points, because the Central Government has meanwhile further
accentuated its stand„ proposing yet another revised draft, taking the matter to further non-federal extremes, I find revised amendment proposal mote draconian than the former and indeed its very
grain is against the foundations of out great federal polity and the basic structure of India’s Constitutional scheme,” Banerjee wrote in her letter.
“In any event, State and Central Governments across the country are already in great difficulty due to
a shortage in the existing IAS/ IPS officers. However, by insisting on officers to be made available for deputation through the proposed amendment, not only well the administration of States be affected but also it would become impossible to assess and plan the administration of a State by engaging such officers who form part of the Central Deputation Reserve, fraught with the uncertainty of their sudden deputation by the Centre,” she said.
Such a position would also be detrimental to the spirit, confidence, and motivation level of officers
who feature in the Central Deputation Reserve,” Chief Minister wrote in her letter to PM Modi.
“This is going to destroy the federal fabric and basic structure of our Constitution too. It is our Constitution which gives the States their powers and functions and it is our Constitution which
provides the framework and structure of the All-India Services as they exist. The swift unitary turn
that the Central Government has now proposed strike at the root of the frame which has existed and worked well since the inception of our democracy,” the letter stated
The letter stated that as seen in some recent instances, the Union Government has sought the services of some all India service officers of West Bengal suddenly and unilaterally without any due consultation with the state, adding that the proposed amendment of the Cadre Rules will “only legalise such actions which are clearly unwarranted.”
“I request you not to take a measure which will irreparably damage the spirit of mutual accommodation between the Centre and the States which has existed in respect of utilization of Services of the all India Services,” Banerjee added.
