UPSC appointment: BJP has ‘obliged’ Bassi, alleges AAP

New Delhi, May 31

The Aam Aadmi Party on Tuesday said the appointment of former Delhi Police Commissioner BS Bassi as a member of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) proves that the “BJP’s senior spokesperson” has been “obliged” by the government.

“Appointment is the prerogative of the government. This has become clear on whose instructions Mr Bassi was working and he has been obliged. The AAP has been saying categorically that Mr Bassi was acting as the senior spokesperson of the BJP. So his appointment with the UPSC as a member proves the fact that he was and is the senior spokesperson of the BJP, that is why he has been appointed,” AAP leader Ashutosh said.

Bassi, who had a controversial tenure as Delhi Police Commissioner with frequent run-ins with the AAP government, was on Tuesday appointed a member of UPSC, a Constitutional post, for five-year tenure.

Bassi’s tenure as Delhi Police Commissioner, especially towards the end, had come in for criticism after the arrest of Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union president Kanhaiya Kumar over a sedition row.

The former police chief was involved in a running battle with the AAP government led by Arvind Kejriwal with five of its legislators arrested under different counts during Bassi’s tenure. PTI