According to the letter written to the Governor, Danve has alleged that the senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer was being pressured to resign due to her disagreement with the decisions of the state government.
Leader of Opposition in Maharashtra Legislative Council Ambadas Danve has alleged that the Eknath Shinde government of the state is pressuring the state Chief Secretary Sujata Saunik to resign due to opposition to some decisions. Danve has made this claim in a letter to Governor C.P. Radhakrishnan and has demanded an investigation into the matter. He has also shared a copy of the letter on the social media platform ‘X’.
According to the letter to the Governor, Danve has alleged that the senior Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer is being pressured to resign because she disagreed with the decisions of the state government. Shiv Sena-Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray (Shiv Sena- UBT) leader Danve said Sujata Saunik is an honest officer who does not tolerate the “practice of cut and commission” of the government led by Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.
Danve claimed in his letter that if Sujata Saunik resigns, her husband and former Chief Secretary Manoj Saunik will be given an important post. He claimed that it is also being said that if she rejects this offer, Manoj Saunik is likely to be implicated. Danve also alleged that women IAS officers V. Radha and I. A. Kundan have also been isolated for expressing disagreement with the policies of the state government. There is a lot of discontent among the IAS officers of the state. According to the letter, he also demanded an inquiry into these cases.
Who is Sujata Saunik?
Sujata Saunik is a senior IAS officer of 1987 batch, who created history by becoming the first woman Chief Secretary of Maharashtra on June 30 this year. She is originally from Haryana, while her husband is from Bihar. She is a Takemi Fellow from Harvard University’s School of Public Health. The Mahayuti government appointed her as Chief Secretary after Chief Secretary Nitin Kareer retired. She will retire next year. Her husband Manoj Saunik has also been the Chief Secretary of the state. Before being promoted to the post of Chief Secretary, she was Additional Chief Secretary in the Home Department. She has been recognized and popular as a strict officer.
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Sujatha has previously held the post of Additional Chief Secretary in the General Administration Department as well as some other departments including Public Health. She has spent three decades in public policy and governance in healthcare, finance, education, disaster management and peacebuilding at the district, state and federal levels. Despite being senior in the 1987 batch, the state government had earlier appointed her husband Manoj Saunik as the Chief Secretary during April-December 2023. Later, her junior Nitin Kareer of the 1988 batch was made the Chief Secretary. Her husband Manoj Saunik has been the Chief Advisor to the Chief Minister. She has also worked in the UN between 2000 and 2006. (With Bhasha inputs)
