Delhi LG suspends Saurabh Bharadwaj's OSD; AAP minister says, 'my office is empty'

Delhi Lieutenant Governor V K Saxena Wednesday suspended Health Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj's Officer on Special Duty (OSD) R N Das with immediate effect. Das was suspended for his alleged involvement in irregular and illegal registration of private nursing homes, officials told news agency PTI.

"The immediate cause for placing the officer under suspension is on account of reported misconduct with regard to unauthorized and illegal running of Jyoti Nursing Home, Shahadra beyond the valid registration period when he was also Medical Superintendent of Nursing Home Cell," an official said.

The BJP also alleged that Das was involved in the registration process of a children's hospital in Vivek Vihar where six newborns were killed in a fire incident on Saturday night. 

In the order issued on Wednesday, the directorate said, "The Hon'ble Lt. Governor, Delhi, in exercise of the powers conferred by sub-rule (1) of Rule-10 of the CCS (CCA) Rules, 1965, hereby, places the said Dr. R.N. Das, Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to Hon'ble Minister (Health), GNCTD, under suspension with immediate effect."

Earlier last month, a show cause notice was issued to Das by the Directorate of Vigilance in connection with the alleged irregularities in the procurement of various items like Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) kits, gloves, masks and Rapid Antigen Test (RAT) kits worth around Rs 60 crore during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021.

Speaking on the suspension of his OSD, Delhi Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj said, "Today my office is empty because all the advisors, fellows, and consultants who were appointed, all of them were removed by LG. After that, all the OSDs, and secretaries working here, there is a continuous effort to file some case or the other against all of them in different matters. There is no such case which is from my tenure. All the cases are old cases, old government employees who have been working in different departments..."

(With inputs from PTI)