Govt asks UPA appointees to quit

All members of the National Disaster Management Authority, appointed by the previous United Progressive Alliance government, have been asked to resign.

"Everyone has been asked to submit their resignations. Though I have not received any communication as I am out of station now, I have spoken to other members and they have confirmed this to me. I will do the needful once I reach Delhi," NDMA member and former director general of Central Reserve Police Force, JK Sinha, told PTI.

Sinha said that NDMA Vice Chairman M Shashidhar Reddy has already put in his papers. When contacted, Reddy, however, denied having submitted his resignation.

"I have not resigned. I am busy now. I will talk to you later," said Reddy, a Congress politician from Telangana.

The NDMA is headed by the prime minister. The vice chairman enjoys the rank of a Cabinet minister while other members enjoy the rank of a Union minister of state.

Former director general of the CISF, KM Singh, confirmed that he got a call from the government asking him to put in his papers. "I have already submitted my resignation," Singh told PTI. He, however, refused to identify the person in the government who had contacted him.

Former Civil Aviation Secretary KN Shrivastava, when contacted, refused to comment on the matter saying it would not be proper for him to talk on the issue. "I am neither confirming nor denying anything," he said.

Image: Prime Minister Narendra Modi