New Delhi: The new government is speed-dialing officials appointed by its predecessor, the UPA, to ask for their resignations.
A series of governors of UPA pedigree were the first to be asked to go. Added to the league now are eight members of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), the head of the National Commission for Women and the chief of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), which helps promote Indian artistes abroad.
Most resignations are being solicited in calls placed by Home Secretary Anil Goswami. In a tweet today, Abhishek Manu Singhvi of the opposition Congress said, "Home Secy's new name is ssr--spl secy resignations."
NDMA Vice Chairman Shashidhar Reddy and a few other members have resigned.
"After the election, a new government is in power, so I sent in my resignation three days ago to the PM," Mr Reddy told NDTV.
Narendra Modi, as Prime Minister, is the chairman of the NDMA, which decides national guidelines for the response to earthquakes, floods, landslides and other natural disasters, and ensures that different central and state departments know how to implement these.
Mamata Sharma, who heads the National Commission for Women, ran for the December Rajasthan election as a Congress candidate and was defeated. She recently wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asking him to sack Nihalchand Meghwal, a union minister accused by a woman in Jaipur of raping her three years ago. Her term was to end next month.
So far, the government's attempt to pink-slip governors including Sheila Dikshit has delivered two resignations - that of UP governor BL Joshi and Shekhar Dutt of Chhattisgarh. A series of others, Ms Dikshit among them, are pushing back.
Maharashtra governor KS Sankaranarayanan, who said he had received two calls from the Home Secretary, told NDTV today he would think of resigning only if it came from proper channels. "I wouldn't say it is a witch-hunt, no chair or post is permanent," he said.
The opposition Congress, which led the UPA coalition that was decimated by the BJP in the national election, says the government is violating a 2010 Supreme Court verdict which said a "change in government at Centre is not a ground for removal of governors holding office to make way for others favoured by the new government."
A series of governors of UPA pedigree were the first to be asked to go. Added to the league now are eight members of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA), the head of the National Commission for Women and the chief of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR), which helps promote Indian artistes abroad.
Most resignations are being solicited in calls placed by Home Secretary Anil Goswami. In a tweet today, Abhishek Manu Singhvi of the opposition Congress said, "Home Secy's new name is ssr--spl secy resignations."
"After the election, a new government is in power, so I sent in my resignation three days ago to the PM," Mr Reddy told NDTV.
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Mamata Sharma, who heads the National Commission for Women, ran for the December Rajasthan election as a Congress candidate and was defeated. She recently wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asking him to sack Nihalchand Meghwal, a union minister accused by a woman in Jaipur of raping her three years ago. Her term was to end next month.
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Maharashtra governor KS Sankaranarayanan, who said he had received two calls from the Home Secretary, told NDTV today he would think of resigning only if it came from proper channels. "I wouldn't say it is a witch-hunt, no chair or post is permanent," he said.
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