...by the way
LIKE politics, the bureaucracy is also dynamic and the faces keep changing. Power circles are endlessly speculating on who the most important bureaucrats running the government are. Following the entry of new Cabinet Secretary Ajit Kumar Seth and the induction of Pulok Chatterji as Principal Secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office, the equations have changed. Insiders say Chatterji is now numero uno.
THE Government is in a fix, thanks to the special attention it has to pay to the SC/ST classification of IAS/ IPS officers. Earlier, Ministers never bothered about the caste or community affiliations of an officer working as a Personal Secretary or while appointing a Joint Secretary. The scenario has turned topsy turvy now. In the UPA II government, Ministers are now reluctant to fill these posts until they are absolutely sure that an SC/ST candidate is not waiting in the wings. The wheel has come full circle because in the old days upper caste Ministers would balk at appointing an SC/ST IAS or IPS officer. Under established rules, the Establishment Officer in the Ministry of Personnel draws up a panel of Joint Secretary-level officers of the concerned Ministry and sends it to the Civil Services Board of which the concerned Ministry’s Secretary is a member. The Secretary, before proceeding to the meeting, discusses the panel with the Minister and finalizes the name of the candidate. The problem is that not many Dalits are empanelled as Joint Secretaries. The grudge among the Dalit officers is that, from Director-level onwards their CR is only given the remark of “good”. So the Dalit officer is discriminated against at this level through a grading system that prevents him from rising further. The Dalit Officers Federation is planning to write to the Cabinet Secretary to enquire as to how many Dalit officers have been empanelled in the last 10 years.
SUDDENLY, the face of the composition of the government in Delhi is changing. And rapidly. IAS and IPS officers of the UP and Bihar cadres are emerging as the top honchos. Earlier, more than 200 IAS or IPS officers who were either born in Kerala or belonged to the Kerala cadre were posted as Secretaries and Joint Secretaries. But ever since the ascendancy of Ajit Kumar Seth as the new Cabinet Secretary, the scenario is altering.
ANNA Hazare is helpless here. As is usually the case when complicated matters arise within the labyrinthine bureaucracy. This is a tale of two top bureaucrats in an uber sensitive department of the Government of India. Let’s call them Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee. Mr Dee was supposed to get an extension in his post. But if he availed of that, Mr Dum, his number two in the hierarchy, with no more than six months left until his own retirement, would never get the chance to become numero uno as the legitimate successor.
The five jewels
LIKE politics, the bureaucracy is also dynamic and the faces keep changing. Power circles are endlessly speculating on who the most important bureaucrats running the government are. Following the entry of new Cabinet Secretary Ajit Kumar Seth and the induction of Pulok Chatterji as Principal Secretary in the Prime Minister’s Office, the equations have changed. Insiders say Chatterji is now numero uno.When Congress boss Sonia Gandhi was admitted in New York’s Sloan-Kettering hospital for an undisclosed surgery in August, Chatterji, a time-honoured Rajiv Gandhi loyalist, handled the logistics with such aplomb and secrecy that even the Indian Embassy in Washington was kept in the dark.
To continue the power equation calculus...politicians and bureaucrats who believed that Prime Ministerial adviser TKA “Kutty” Nair would recede into oblivion after his socalled “side-lining” have been proven wrong. The old bonds and long associations keep Nair in the number two slot and very much in command. The third most powerful bureaucrat is Seth, a low-profile but well-ensconced officer who thrives as he survives.
The number four in this power hierarchy is Vinod Rai, 1972-batch IAS officer from Kerala. He is the Comptroller and Auditor-General (CAG) of India who has been digging into the 2G telecom scam and the skulduggery in the KG hydrocarbons basin. In both cases, he has excoriated the government. He did not hesitate a moment in dragging in the name of the Prime Minister’s Office into the Commonwealth Games 2010 scandal.
And number five? There is no speculation on this score. The odds weigh heavily in favour of Pradeep Kumar, the 1972-batch IAS officer of the Haryana cadre who is the Chief Vigilance Commissioner of India. He is not a man in a hurry, but rather a man with a mission. He has started speaking his mind on what the role of the CVC should be, and how he intends to use his powers in the days ahead. Like the CAG, who derives his authority from the Constitution rather than a political boss, Kumar can escape the stifling clutches of the political power establishment when deciding the fate of the rich and powerful whose files land on his desk for inspection and clearance.
SC/STs fire a salvo
THE Government is in a fix, thanks to the special attention it has to pay to the SC/ST classification of IAS/ IPS officers. Earlier, Ministers never bothered about the caste or community affiliations of an officer working as a Personal Secretary or while appointing a Joint Secretary. The scenario has turned topsy turvy now. In the UPA II government, Ministers are now reluctant to fill these posts until they are absolutely sure that an SC/ST candidate is not waiting in the wings. The wheel has come full circle because in the old days upper caste Ministers would balk at appointing an SC/ST IAS or IPS officer. Under established rules, the Establishment Officer in the Ministry of Personnel draws up a panel of Joint Secretary-level officers of the concerned Ministry and sends it to the Civil Services Board of which the concerned Ministry’s Secretary is a member. The Secretary, before proceeding to the meeting, discusses the panel with the Minister and finalizes the name of the candidate. The problem is that not many Dalits are empanelled as Joint Secretaries. The grudge among the Dalit officers is that, from Director-level onwards their CR is only given the remark of “good”. So the Dalit officer is discriminated against at this level through a grading system that prevents him from rising further. The Dalit Officers Federation is planning to write to the Cabinet Secretary to enquire as to how many Dalit officers have been empanelled in the last 10 years.A coat of many colours
SUDDENLY, the face of the composition of the government in Delhi is changing. And rapidly. IAS and IPS officers of the UP and Bihar cadres are emerging as the top honchos. Earlier, more than 200 IAS or IPS officers who were either born in Kerala or belonged to the Kerala cadre were posted as Secretaries and Joint Secretaries. But ever since the ascendancy of Ajit Kumar Seth as the new Cabinet Secretary, the scenario is altering.Take the Home Ministry. Home Secretary Raj Kumar Singh is a 1975-batch IAS officer from Bihar. The Ministry of Finance has a new Secretary, DK Mittal, who is an IAS officer from the 1975 batch of the UP cadre. Defence Secretary Shashi Kant Sharma is from Bihar. Interestingly, Pulok Chatterji, Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister, and the Cab Sec are batch mates. Himachal Pradesh cadre officers are finding their way into the Prime Minister’s Office, and some 12 Secretaries are now from the Northeast.
Scratch my back
ANNA Hazare is helpless here. As is usually the case when complicated matters arise within the labyrinthine bureaucracy. This is a tale of two top bureaucrats in an uber sensitive department of the Government of India. Let’s call them Tweedle Dum and Tweedle Dee. Mr Dee was supposed to get an extension in his post. But if he availed of that, Mr Dum, his number two in the hierarchy, with no more than six months left until his own retirement, would never get the chance to become numero uno as the legitimate successor.But often a deal—fair-exchange-no-robbery—is the best way out of a sticky situation. Fate and happenstance also played a role in what transpired. The department just happened to have purchased some special aircraft for its aviation needs. The deal needed the consent of both Mr Dum and Mr Dee. It could not be executed without the consent of both officers.
So there dawned a novel opportunity for some old fashioned insider trading. Mr Dee would say goodbye to the department and retire gracefully and not request the powers that be for an extension. What would he get out of it? All the fringe benefits that accrue from the aircraft deal. Mr Dum happily agreed. Boss retired with the prize money and the second-in-command succeeded him and enjoyed a privileged status. It’s what the Americans call a win-win situation. g
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