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Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij on Wednesday alleged that some officers are obstructing his departmental work to “please” Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar as they think that there are differences between the two.
Asserting that he and Khattar are “good friends”, Vij, who also holds the health portfolio, said such officers will have to pay a heavy price for playing this “dirty game”.
Vij’s remarks came after a recent tussle between him and the chief minister over Director General of Police Manoj Yadava’s tenure.
Khattar was keen on retaining Yadava as the state police chief while Vij was in favour of replacing him after his two-year term ended earlier this year.
Though Yadava was granted a one-year extension by the Centre, he sought premature repatriation to the Intelligence Bureau last month citing “career considerations and family requirements”.
In a statement, Vij said some officers are obstructing his departmental works to please Khattar as they think that he and the CM are against each other.
“They are very badly mistaken. Me (I) and Hon’ble CM are good friends,” said Vij, who also holds Urban Local Bodies, Technical Education, Science and Technology departments.
Officers playing this “dirty game” will have to pay a heavy price for this, he added.
While Vij did not name any officer in his statement, his displeasure seems to be directed towards some senior bureaucrats, sources said.
In January last year, Vij and Khattar were involved in a tussle over the control of the CID wing.
The CID department, which was then held by Vij as the home minister, was eventually allocated to Khattar.
Differences between the two leaders had been brewing since Vij was given the crucial home portfolio after he won his seat for a sixth time in the 2019 state assembly polls while most of the ministers of the BJP government lost.
The home portfolio was with Khattar during his first term in 2014-19.
