New Delhi: Former Commissioner of Delhi Police Bhim Sen Bassi was today appointed as a member of the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC).
"The President has appointed Bhim Sen Bassi, retired IPS officer, as member of the UPSC," an official statement said.
Bassi's tenure will commence from the date he takes charge. An officer of the Indian Police Service of the 1977 batch, Bassi retired as Delhi Police chief in February.
He began his career as an Assistant Superintendent of Police at Puducherry, then called Pondicherry.
Bassi, 59, who was seen as a contender for the post of Central Information Commissioner, was bypassed by the Narendra Modi government.
Meanwhile, the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party was quick to attack the central government over the appointment of Bassi, who had frequent run-ins with the party-led government in Delhi. AAP said Bassi’s appointment was proof 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’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 also involved in a running battle with the AAP government over the arrest of five of its legislators under different counts during Bassi’s tenure.
(With agencies)
