CPI(M) asks Himachal govt to cancel plan to appoint Sanjay Gupta as regular chief secretary

Himachal Pradesh CPI(M) on Sunday asked the state government to cancel the proposed extension of services of the officiating Chief Secretary, Sanjay Gutpta, as the permanent chief secretary.

The CPI(M) also urged the government to remove Gupta as the officiating chief secretary and to initiate legal proceedings against him.

Sanjay Chauhan, state secretary of the CPI(M) wrote a letter to Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu in this regard. In the letter, he said that such action raises serious questions about the functioning of the government.

''On one hand, the government talks about zero tolerance towards corruption, while on the other hand, it is placing and seeking to extend the tenure of an officer against whom several corruption-related cases are pending and whose conduct has also been questioned by the court,'' he said.

Chauhan said that a case is currently under consideration before the Himachal Pradesh High Court and on May 19, 2026, the court took cognisance of serious issues relating to institutional integrity and issued notices to the state government, the central government and Gupta.

''The petition reportedly mentions three pending FIRs and two pending criminal references (CRs) against Gupta, on which the government has been asked to respond. At such a time, appointing the officer concerned to the highly important post raises serious concerns regarding administrative transparency and institutional credibility,'' he said.

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