NE NEWS SERVICE
AHMEDABAD, MAY 26
Former Ahmedabad municipal commissioner Vijay Nehra on Tuesday quoted noted Hindi poet Shivmangal Singh Suman while tweeting that he will “not beg for mercy or will not ask for a boon,” days after the convener of Gujarat BJP’s IT cell Pankaj Shukla accused him of “self-promotion”.
Shukla also accused Nehra of offering “misleading and baseless figures” of projected coronavirus cases for Ahmedabd to “create panic.”
Nehra was transferred by the state government on May 17 as the Commissioner of Rural Development, when coronavirus cases in Ahmedabad city had crossed 8,000-mark.
The government then appointed Vice Chairman and CEO of Gujarat Maritime Board Mukesh Kumar as the full-fledged chief of the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation.
Nehra had quarantined himself after coming into contact with two coronavirus positive patients.
Quoting Suman, Nehra tweeted in Hindi, “Vardan nahi manguga” (will not ask for boon or beg for mercy).
His response came days after Shukla had said that the “truth” behind Nehra’s transfer was not that because he had allowed testing of a large number of samples, but because “he was busy promoting himself on social media”.
Shukla had also tweeted that Nehra was “offering misleading and baseless figures to create panic by saying Ahmedabad could have eight lakh coronavirus cases, and because (of this projection) he went into home quarantine by leaving Ahmedabad up to the God (sic)”.
He had said that the Gujarat government handed over Ahmedabad to senior officers for “effective and fast decision-making”.
Since his transfer, Nehra garnered huge support on the micro-blogging site with hashtag #BringBackVijayNehra trending.
We need #VijayNehra back. It is not his loss but our Loss. He will shine anywhere he will go. We need the best man for the best city. Please don’t do this to us. #VijayNehra #bringbackvijaynehra #BringVijayNehraBack,” a user said.
Another user said, “Dear Ahmedabad, You need to fight for an honest officer @vnehra don’t let your political ideology come into your way of holding elected politicians accountable for this miss-step”.
