Top bureaucrat claims Chidambaram humiliated him over `poor` English

Zee Media Bureau

New Delhi: In yet another embarrassment for the Congress-led government at the Centre, Urban Development Secretary Sudhir Krishna has alleged “humiliating treatment” meted out to him by Finance Minister P Chidambaram, a news channel reported on Wednesday. The senior bureaucrat has written to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to seek his intervention into the matter. Krishna has alleged that he has been repeatedly insulted by Chidambaram. Meanwhile, the Finance Minister said he would only react after he gets the copy of the complaint filed by the bureaucrat. The recent episode has come to the forefront when the Manmohan Singh-led government is already facing huge pressure over the appointment of Central Bureau of Investigation`s Additional Director Reports say the Prime Minister`s Office flouted established procedures by appointing Archana Ramasundram as the CBI`s Additional Director, without receiving clearance from Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) as required. According to reports, the PMO appointed Ramasundram, the Tamil Nadu cadre IPS officer, at the insistence of CBI chief Ranjit Sinha. The CVC had reportedly recommended an IPS officer from West Bengal cadre RK Pachnanda to the post. The PMO, however, ignored CVC`s recommendation. The BJP and Congress are at the loggerheads over the issue. Reacting to the issue, a news daily quoted BJP spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman as saying: “The government is imposing its officers on CBI. Inadvertent mistakes don`t happen in such high-level appointments. There is a clear violation of rules in this appointment.” Congress spokesperson Sanjay Jha, however, defended the appointment, saying, "The government sought the opinion of the Law Ministry and Solicitor-General on the appointment. All factors were taken into consideration. The country has got an additional CBI Director who is extremely competent.”