Were OSDs RSS appointees: Prithviraj Chavan

DNA: Mumbai: Tuesday, February 23, 2016.

Stating that he had not appointed any outsider in his office during his tenure as the chief minister of the state, Prithviraj Chavan on Monday said that the real issue regarding eight officers on special duty paid Rs7.6 lakh last December was whether they were RSS appointees and how safe are all-important government files when outsiders have access to these.

After activist Anil Galgali sought information through an RTI application about the salaries of the eight OSDs working with the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) and issued a press release based on the same on Monday, chief minister Devendra Fadnavis called a meeting with select OSDs out of the eight concerned on Monday evening.

Speaking to dna over the phone, Chavan said that he had never appointed any outsider when he was the chief minister of the state. He said that there could be an exception if a minister appointed a personal assistant, but not an OSD since a person appointed as an OSD becomes an officer. Chavan said that the important point of concern on such appointments was whether these people were from the RSS. He added that the chief minister needed to answer whether all these eight OSDs had taken an oath of secrecy, since it is mandatory for government servants or other officers to do the same.

Chavan said that if at all these eight people were not government employees and were privy to information that could be sensitive, then what is the guarantee that such information would not be leaked? He said that appointing such OSDs in big numbers was nothing but an attempt to create extra-constitutional authorities. The former chief minister also said that the combined salary amount of Rs7.6 lakh paid to the eight OSDs is not that important, but what is important is whether any government resolution was issued while appointing such outsiders in the CMO. Chavan asked that if there is a phone call from the Chief Minister's Office, is there any laid-down procedure for bureaucrats about whom they should listen to, and is there any laid-down procedure for interpersonal relations for secretaries from various departments and these OSDs.

Meanwhile, the CMO has made it clear that the appointments of the eight OSDs were done as per the provisions of the existing GR issued during the previous government's regime on December 7, 2010. The CMO has also said that there is legal provision for such appointments as per section 10C of the Maharashtra Ministers and Allowances Act 1956 and there are two GRs dated December 7, 2010 and January 4, 2011 regarding such appointments. The CMO has pointed out that the previous government, while appointing such outsiders, had not brought them under the Maharashtra Civil Services Code of Conduct Rules 1979, which the present government has done. The CMO has also pointed out that it has appointed 36 interns from various fields, which is proving beneficial in the monitoring of various projects. It has also said that other departments are also exploring the option of appointing such interns, since these appointments are being lauded in the administrative circles as well.

Meanwhile, after Galgali released the information to the media that he had availed through an RTI application, there were intra-OSD office meetings as well as a meeting between chief minister Devendra Fadnavis and select OSDs. There was no official reaction on this issue on the part of the CMO till late in the evening.