Dilli Ka Babu
Getting poll ready
As chief minister Narendra Modi gears up for the impending Gujarat Assembly elections, there’s a guessing game on about who among his babus is likely to join the poll fray. The strongest rumours floating about in Gujarat’s power corridors is that additional chief secretary, panchayats and tribal development, R.M. Patel has sought voluntary retirement, ostensibly to join politics.
It is being said that Mr Patel may be fighting the state Assembly polls on a BJP ticket from the reserved constituencies of Asarva in Ahmedabad or Kadi in Mehsana, though the man at the heart of the rumours has not said anything yet.
Though babus at the state personnel department deny having received Mr Patel’s application for voluntary retirement, the rumours refuse to die down. In all likelihood, observers say, both rumours and candidates may increase as elections draw near.
Ray of hope
Several officers of the Rajasthan Administrative Service (RAS) are hopeful that the much delayed promotions to the state IAS cadre will now be possible, after a recent Supreme Court ruling. Promotion of RAS officers to the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) have been stalled for nearly two decades because of the state government’s stance on promotions, and also resistance from officers of non-reserved categories to promotion of their colleagues from the Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes categories.
Recently, sources say, chief secretary C.K. Mathew has now reopened dialogue with the association of RAS officers. Apparently, most promotions for the past 17 years were embroiled in litigation, despite 78 of the 80 seats in the IAS cadre remaining vacant. Meanwhile, as many as 75 RAS officers have retired without being promoted to higher pay scales.
Babus’ revenge
The attempt by the State Information Commission (SIC) in Jammu and Kashmir to summon state chief secretary Madhav Lal for noncompliance with its direction has turned into a full-fledged battle. Sources say that earlier this year the Chief Information Commissioner (CIC) G.R. Sufi summoned the chief secretary to his office since repeated reminders to the state government did not evoke a “positive” response from the bureaucracy.
The babus have apparently struck back now by making sweeping amendments to the Right to Information (RTI) rules, rendering the SIC practically “toothless”. They’ve not only amended the rules which will now protect them from the CIC’s orders but got the new Jammu & Kashmir RTI Rules 2012 approved by the state Cabinet. Clearly, it’s the babus who call the shots in Jammu & Kashmir’s power corridors.
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