Bhopal: Intense lobbying
Pace for the post of chief secretary has begun to hot up now. So intense has lobbying for the post has become that a powerful additional chief secretary (ACS) has begun to tap his contacts in Bhopal as well as in Delhi. The ACS has, through an officer from Gujarat, has his voice heard in the corridors of power in the national capital. The officer is, in fact, posted to a department which gives him an opportunity meet the officers from Gujarat. He has started contacting his Delhi bosses through those officers and sent a message to the BJP chief that it is only he who should be made the next chief secretary.
In Bhopal, too, this ACS has a strong lobby. Besides having direct contact with the chief minister, he has strong backing of the state bureaucracy for the top job. A retired chief secretary has since become a thorn in his side the ACS is trying to improve his relations with him. The aim of the ACS is to lay his hands on the post, come whatever may.
Spying
A collector in a district is not taking interest in his work these days. He spends most of his time spying on his wife who is working on an important post in a district which is adjacent to the one where the collector is posted. The collector is busy gathering information about his wife who, he thinks, has an affair with another officer. The collector, during his posting in a district, courted controversies many a time. Consequently, he had to lose his collectorship. He got his post back through a person close to the chief minister, though. Yet, he is caught in family problems. Now, he is trying to get his wife posted to the place where he is working. Yarn of the sahib is quite popular in the district, especially among his subordinates who
relish it a lot.
Election
Retired a few months ago, an IAS officer is ready to contest the ensuing assembly election in the state. He has started making efforts to get tickets from a district near the state capital. In an attempt to get BJP ticket, he is contacting influential RSS members. The retired officer who is also meeting the Congress leaders is confident of getting a ticket through a former chief minister. He hopes that either of the two parties will make him candidate. Also, he has collected funds to avoid any crunch situation during the election. Nevertheless, controversies have always dogged this officer. Similarly, another collector sahib in another district is not leaving the place, though he was retired. His hopes to get tickets from the ruling party forced him to stay back there.
Targeted
After the incidents of violence during Bharat bandh, a principal secretary (PS) has become a target of his detractors. The message being spread is that the preparations for the agitation that spawned violence were made under the guidance of that PS who is saying that his organisation has nothing to do with the violence. Yet, conspiracy is being hatched against him. An officer of additional chief secretary rank is spearheading the campaign against the PS. The ACS is, in fact, trying to shunt the PS off to an unimportant place. Those who want to join the department which the PS is heading have also signed up to campaign against the PS. Their efforts may come to naught, however.
Opportunity
The commissioner of a division has recently shifted a woman from the post of collector. The commissioner was not happy with the style of working of the officer, because there were many complaints against her. The commissioner told her to improve her way of working, but the woman paid no heed to him. So, when the opportunity came, the commissioner washed his hands of the woman collector. How the opportunity came. Since the collector was recently delivered of a baby, another officer was asked to take over from her. When madam wanted to join back to keep her collectorship safe the commissioner advised her to rest for some more days. As she extended leave, another officer was posted as collector in her place. Coincidently, the new collector is also a woman. Now, it has to be seen how the commissioner deals with her.
Eyeing
The collector of an important district is being shifted to Delhi with a central minister. On seeing the imminent transfer of the collector, some officers have begun to lobby for posting to that area. One such officer has been recently promoted to the IAS cadre. The minister in-charge of the district concerned is keen on posting of that promoted officer to that place. Since everybody is acquainted with his efficiency, there is no objection to his posting to the district as collector. The chief minister is also impressed by the officer, so much so that he wants to post him to a district of his choice. Besides, there are two more IAS officers who are trying to get themselves posted to that district. Both of them are collectors. Before becoming collectors, they were posted to the district concerned, so they want to return to that place as collector. However, only time will tell on whom Lady Luck smiles.
