No officer on strike, says IAS Association, rejects Arvind Kejriwal's charge as 'baseless'

Kejriwal had on Monday alleged that the IAS officers in Delhi were on a strike for the past four months and termed it "illegal".

NEW DELHI: The IAS Association has rejected the allegations levelled by Delhi Chief Minister  Arvind Kejriwal as "unwarranted and baseless" and "unfortunate" and clarified that no officer in Delhi is on strike as claimed by the AAP convenor.

"It is unfortunate that the Chief Minister and the Delhi government ministers are making unwarranted and baseless allegations that IAS officers are on strike,'' the IAS Association said in a statement issued to press on Monday, according to IANS.

"We wish to reiterate and clarify that no officer/official in Delhi is or has been on strike subsequent to the unfortunate assault of the Chief Secretary on February 19 at the Chief Minister's residence by the MLAs,"  IAS Association secretary Manisha Saxena said.

Saxena, however, admitted that all the IAS officers were very 'disturbed' and 'agitated' by the alleged attack on the Chief Secretary.

"But, at no time was work disrupted," Saxena added.

Clearing the air on the issue, she said that all concerned officers have been attending all Cabinet meetings, statutory meetings and meetings of importance affecting the public. They have also been regularly briefing the Ministers for Assembly questions.

While questioning Kejriwal's claim, Saxena said that if the IAS officers had been on strike, the Budget could not have been passed and the Budget Session could not have been held.

Saxena further informed that the officers are not attending routine meetings called by the Ministers and the Chief Minister since they have ''got no assurance regarding their safety, security, dignity and respect.''

Joining the issue, Aam Aadmi Party's spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj later said that even though the IAS officers are on strike, they are afraid of admitting their participation in the strike.

"IAS Association understands it fully well that any form of strike can lead to dismissal from the service. The officers are too scared of losing their jobs," Bhardwaj added.

Kejriwal had on Monday alleged that the IAS officers were on a strike for the past four months and termed it "illegal".

(With IANS inputs)