ML Khattar 'Supreme', Says Anil Vij After Haryana CM Strips Him Of CID Charge

Haryana Home Minister Anil Vij on Thursday said he has always maintained that the chief minister is supreme and can take away or divide any department, hours after he was stripped of the charge of CID. The portfolio of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) has been allocated to Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, a Haryana government statement said here on late Wednesday night. "Governor of Haryana, on the advice of the chief minister, has allocated some new portfolios to the chief minister and to two ministers.

As per a notification issued by the chief secretary, the portfolios of the Criminal Investigation Department, and the departments of Personnel and Training and of Raj Bhawan Affairs have been allocated to the chief minister, Manohar Lal, in addition to his existing portfolios, with immediate effect," the statement said.

Apart from this, the portfolio of Elections has been allocated to Transport Minister Mool Chand Sharma while the portfolio of Art and Cultural Affairs, hitherto allocated to Sharma, has been allocated to Education Minister Kanwar Pal, in addition to their existing portfolios. "Thus, the home minister, Anil Vij, will cease to hold the portfolio of Criminal Investigation Department and the transport minister, Mool Chand Sharma, will cease to hold the portfolio of Art and  Cultural Affairs," the statement said.

When asked to comment on being stripped of the charge of CID department, Vij told PTI, "I have always maintained chief minister is supreme and he can take away or divide any department." He declined to comment on the matter any further.

Earlier, Vij had said that there were no differences between them and the chief minister was his "best friend". Vij, who had expressed unhappiness over not being briefed or given feedback by the CID, appeared satisfied and said on Wednesday, "Today was the first time that an SP-rank officer briefed me. Now he will be briefing me daily."

His comments came after the Bharatiya Janata Party said the differences between Khattar and Vij over the CID's control have been resolved. "The issue has been resolved. The chief minister is the head of the government and he can keep whatever (departments) he wants to have," BJP general secretary Anil Jain told PTI.

The Haryana home minister in an informal chat with the media on Wednesday evening said, "The chief minister is my best friend. I never had any differences with him. I had some issues with the (CID) department but that too have been resolved." However, Vij said, there was no going back on the demand of disciplinary action against the state chief of the agency.

The minister has demanded that state CID chief Anil Rao, who is an ADGP-rank officer, be replaced with Shrikant Jadhav, another senior IPS officer, after charging the former with "disobedience and negligent behaviour in official duty".

Vij also refuted media reports that he had aired grievances pertaining to the CID issue with newly-appointed BJP president J P Nadda when he went to congratulate him in Delhi.

"There was no talk on this issue. I had gone to congratulate him," Vij said. Rising tensions between the minister and the state CID chief had triggered a tug-of-war between Vij and the chief minister over the control of the department.

Khattar recently said the CID remained under the chief minister's control during the terms of Bansi Lal and Devi Lal, an assertion that appeared to counter the home minister's claim over the department. Khattar, however, sought to downplay the row.

Vij had taken exception to two state government websites showing the CID was held by Khattar. "Governments are not run by websites. They are run by the rule of law," Vij had said.