The Madurai Corporation Commissioner clarified that maintenance works are done whenever a ‘Z plus’ security visit happens.
A Madurai Corporation official has been suspended for ordering his juniors to fix the roads and street lights in the neighbourhood of Sathya Nagar, ahead of RSS Chief Mohan Bhagwat’s visit on July 22. The contentious circular said that Mohan Bhagwat would be participating in the events held at the Sai Baba Temple in Madurai from July 22 to 26, and that maintenance should be done on roads and street lights should be fixed. It also asked the Zonal officers to make sure that the Corporation workers did not take up any other work while the RSS chief travels in Madurai. The circular also asked officials to get Mohan Bhagwat’s itinerary from the day of his arrival in Madurai.
The contentious circular was issued by an official called Shanmugam, who is the Assistant Commissioner of the Public Works Department of Madurai Corporation. Following his circular, which was reportedly issued without the permission of higher authorities, Shanmugam was suspended by the Corporation.
Madurai Corporation Commissioner KP Karthikeyan has said that “whenever people of Z plus security visit a place, regular maintenance works are carried out as per security protocol”. However, no special work is done. Karthikeyan IAS added that the Assistant Commissioner was suspended for issuing a misleading circular, that too without consulting higher-ups in the department. He is now facing an inquiry and has been asked to appear before officials in-charge, Karthikeyan’s letter read.
Reacting to the contentious post, CPI(M) leader and Madurai MP Su Venkatesan asked the Madurai district administration to “immediately explain under which government rules the Assistant Commissioner of the Madurai Corporation had issued the circular.”
Later, he tweeted the statement by the Madurai Corporation Commissioner, stating that the “order sends the right message to the entire state administration.”
The RSS or the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh is the ideological arm of the ruling BJP at the centre. Mohan Bhagwat is a Hindu nationalist, a senior RSS leader and currently heads the organisation.
Source: The News Minute