Centre trying to run parallel government through unelected persons in Delhi: Sisodia

New Delhi: Turning up the heat on the Centre over the transfers of nine Delhi government officers, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia on Tuesday described it as an attempt to run a "parallel" government through "unelected" persons in the national capital.

"Centre is trying to run parallel government in Delhi through unelected persons undemocratically bypassing an elected government. Modi ji will have to answer as to why so many of our officers were transferred," Sisodia said.

"Transfers are being done as part of conspiracy and dictatorship. The Centre is hatching conspiracy to hamper development works in unauthorized colonies, installation of CCTV cameras and construction in government schools by transferring officers.

"Modi talks about federalism, is this federalism to weaken the Chief Minister Office?," he asked.

The officers who have been transferred were not working on the political agenda of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal instead they were performing their duties on the agenda of an elected government for the people of Delhi, the Deputy CM said.

Centre has transfered nine DANICS officers working with the city administration and out of them, eight were transfered to Andaman and Nicobar islands.

Yesterday, CBI arrested Kejriwal's Principal Secretary Rajendra Kumar, Deputy Secretary and three others for allegedly abusing their official position and favouring a private company in securing government contracts worth over Rs 50 crore.

Interestingly, the CM has not reacted to the arrest of Kumar and his deputy secretary so far.

Sisodia accused the Centre of forcing the Delhi government to make do with only 157 DANICS officers as against the sanctioned strength of 309 posts. The message of the

BJP government to the officers is not to work for us, he said.

Addressing a press conference here, Sisodia accusing the Centre of giving false statements on the sanctioned posts of DANICS officers in Andaman and Nicobar.

"Andaman and Nicobar has 24 sanctioned DANICS posts. Centre wants to take the number to 31. But in Delhi, 157 officers are working against the sanctioned strength of 309. Centre is claiming that transferring officers is its prerogative," he said.

Centre should tell it is its prerogative to destroy an elected Delhi Government and not allow us to work for the people of Delhi. Under which democratic process, Centre is claiming that it is its right of transferring officers, Sisodia said.