Overheard: A retired IAS officer has shifted his loyalty to Congress

Overheard: A retired IAS officer has shifted his loyalty to Congress

FPJ BureauUpdated: Wednesday, May 29, 2019, 06:44 AM IST
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Birthday gift

A Principal Secretary of a department has recently celebrated his birthday. Many people greeted him. When the minister of the department had come to know of it he too greeted the officer and sent him a bouquet and a gift. When the PS had opened the gift pack he was slightly disappointed. Then he felt nothing more could be expected from this government. The minister sent him a set of books of Deendayal Upadhyaya, one of the founders of the Jan Sangh.

Initially, the PS could not understand what to do with those books. Thinking that the minister may get angry, because the books are associated with Deendayal, he has kept them to his home. The minister is so powerful that the PS is afraid of him. The minister’s is the last word in the department. He has allotted most of the work of important departments to a man close to him. So he calls the shots.

Changing loyalty

A retired IAS officer who has always been on important posts in the BJP-run state government has shifted his loyalty to the Congress. Even after his retirement, he was posted to several important departments for five years. Despite this, he has become loyal to the Congress. The officer is working for a Congress leader who has set up a team of retired bureaucrats. A female retired officer is leading the team.

Besides the retired bureaucrats, there are officers of other categories. The team is also in touch with some officers who are not yet retired. They are trying to dig up cases against some officers who are powerful in the government, so that the Congress leader may attack the ruling party. To strengthen his team, the leader is also contacting those officers who are about to retire.

Fear-struck

A young officer involved in an issue is working in fear. After the issue cropped up he was suspended, but he could never imagine that he would be reinstated. He has been reinstated with the help from two senior officers. Still, he looks worried. Besides doing work, he spends most of his time in temples.

He feels he will not get any important post in future. It is said that the officers who helped him are consoling him saying he will get a plum post after the election. He prays, that the present government should return to power, otherwise the old issue may get into his way of getting an important position.

Forced presence

A large number of IAS and IPS officers were present at a meeting to pay tributes to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Their number at the meeting surprised many. An officer of the General Administration Department (GAD) called up these bureaucrats and told them to reach the venue. A police officer was also told to remind his colleagues to be present at the place, Motilal Nehru Stadium.

Besides the higher-rank officers, the ones of lower-rank were forced to reach the spot. The intention of the government was to show, that the condolence meeting was not a BJP-sponsored programme, and that a large number of people attended it. So, other than the officers, the leaders of various parties were called to the meeting. Despite GAD’s efforts, only a handful of IAS officers were present there. Those who attended the meeting did not look comfortable. The Chief Secretary and the DGP changed their seats twice, and some officers were busy with WhatsApp.

Poll worries

A minister has recently accepted that he may lose the election this year. He feels though he has done a lot of welfare work people are disenchanted with him. But he was confident that the BJP would form the next government. Speculating his defeat, he has begun to bully his officers. He has not only made a list of transfers and submitted it to the principal secretary but also asked a company working in the department to help him during the election.

After the principal secretary’s refusal to do the work, the minister has complained to the Chief Minister about it. Both the minister and the bureaucrat are not on good terms. The bureaucrat has told his subordinates that if they do anything wrong to please the minister, they would be held responsible. It is heard that the Chief Minister has asked the chief secretary to patch up relations between the minister and the officer.

Land deals

A senior IAS officer owns lots of lands. He has recently bought hundreds of acres in his home district for his kin. A superintending engineer of his department is doing the work for him. The officer has also bought a big house in the state capital in the name of his brother. About this officer people say that he has become the highest money-earner, and he considers himself the most efficient of all the bureaucrats in the state.

The corridors of power are buzzing about the rip-offs he committed. Yet, he is not worried about it. Despite kicking up many disputes, he always gets plum posts. The opposition is keeping an eye on this ambitious officer. In coming days, corruption cases against him may come to light. People also say if an action is taken to blow the lid off the scams this officer may turn out to be another Arvind Joshi.

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