Tuesday, May 10 2005 22:27 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: Government today (May 10, 2005) slapped a show-cause notice on the controversial bureaucrat L V Saptarishi seeking his explanation for attacking two Election Commissioners even as Rural Development Minister Raghuvansh Prasad said Railway Minister Laloo Prasad Yadav should have consulted him before going public on the issue.

The Department of Personnel today served the notice on Saptarishi accusing him of violating the Civil Service (Conduct) Rules for his attack on Election Commissioners B B Tandon and N Gopalaswami that they attempted to countermand the poll in Chapra Lok Sabha constituency in last year's elections.

Saptarishi, whose letter to Law Minister H R Bhardwaj on the issue was later circulated by the Railway Minister at a press conference, was believed to have been told in the show-cause notice that his conduct was unbecoming of a civil servant and that he should explain his conduct.

The West Bengal cadre IAS officer, at present Director General CAPART under the Rural Development Ministry met Laloo Prasad and Raghuvansh Prasad and is understood to have discussed the fall out of his attack and the show cause notice.

Saptarishi is said to be consulting legal opinion for his reply to the notice.

As Laloo Prasad's RJD (Rashtriya Janata Dal) appeared isolated in the UPA (United Progressive Alliance) on the issue, Raghuvansh Prasad Singh told a press conference that "Laloo Prasad should have consulted me before going to the press with the letter (written by Saptarishi to Bharadwaj). If not me, at least he should have consulted UPA allies before taking this step."

The Minister said that he had signed the decision of the Executive Committee of CAPART giving a three-year tenure to the Director General on April 7.

Singh said that at an executive meeting of CAPART on January 19 it was decided that the tenure of the post of Director General should be for a period of three years and a person serving for six to eight months would not be able to "do justice to the job."

"It is the Director General's post and it has nothing to do with Saptarishi," Singh said.

Saptarishi had taken over as Director General of CAPART in October last year.