Upset over suspension of IAS officer, Jt Secys meet Home Secy

New Delhi, Sep 4 (PTI) Upset over suspension of an IASofficer, four senior officers in Home Ministry have conveyedto Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi that action againstJoint Secretary G K Dwivedi for the alleged lapses by hisjuniors in FCRA licence renewal of Zakir Naik’s NGO was"demoralising" and "harsh on an honest officer". Coming out in support of Dwivedi, who was serving asJoint Secretary (Foreigners) in the Home Ministry, the foursenior officers — all Joint Secretary — told Mehrishi onSaturday that his suspension was a "gross miscarriage ofjustice" towards an officer who has been diligently doing hisjob and has successfully implemented several ambitiousprojects of the government. "It is demoralising for honest officers. I feel injusticehas been done to Mr Dwivedi. We have conveyed our feelings,"Joint Secretary (Police-I) in the Home Ministry Kumar Alok,who was one of the four officers, told PTI when asked whetherhe had met the Union Home Secretary, pleading Dwivedi’s case. Kumar, himself an IAS officer, however, refused toelaborate further about their discussions with the Union HomeSecretary. Dwivedi, along with three of his junior officers, weresuspended three days ago after government found that the FCRAlicence of an NGO run by controversial Islamic preacher ZakirNaik was renewed by the Home Ministry’s Foreigners Divisionheaded by him (Dwivedi) despite several probes beingundergoing against Naik for allegedly radicalisating youthsand attracting them towards extremism. Sources said the four Joint Secretaries told the UnionHome Secretary that the integrity of Dwivedi was beyond anyquestion and such action against a senior officer for thealleged lapses of his juniors would send a wrong signal. Dwivedi has been credited with successfully implementingPrime Minister Narendra Modi’s several key projects includingTVoA (tourist visa on arrival), enabled by Electronic TravelAuthorisation (ETA), popularly known as e-tourist visa schemethat led to 293 per cent jump in foreign tourist arrivals inIndia. The scheme was launched on November 27, 2014 and iscurrently offered to citizens of 150 countries. Dwivedi also led the successful merger of Person ofIndian Origin (PIO) card scheme with Overseas Citizen of India(OCI) card scheme, as announced by the Prime Minister. He oversaw Modi government’s another pet project ofoffering long term visa and citizenship to Hindu, Sikh andother minorities of Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, whohave taken refuge in India after facing religious persecutionin their home counties. Dwivedi was also instrumental in completely overhaulingthe registration process of NGOs under the ForeignContribution Regulations Act and making it completely onlineand transparent. PTI ACBRT