Two days after suspending Trifed MD, government declares order ‘null & void’

NEW DELHI: Two days after Ramsinh Rathwa, the chairman of Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development (TRIFED), issued directions suspending the organization’s managing director Geetanjali Gupta citing “administrative mismanagement”, the ministry of tribal affairs on Saturday declared the order “null and void.”
The letter to Rathwa from the ministry’s livelihood division said Gupta, an IAS officer, has been appointed as MD TRIFED on the directions of the central government’s appointments committee of the cabinet. Hence Rathwa’s direction to suspend Gupta is invalid and therefore “null and void”.
The ministry’s letter states that the same has been issued with the approval of the appropriate authorities. The immediate provocation was the issuance of an order refusing extension of tenure of his private secretary and appointing another person in his place without the knowledge of the TRIFED chairman.