Overheard in Bhopal: A new equation is developing while a minister has the last laugh

Overheard in Bhopal: A new equation is developing while a minister has the last laugh

NITENDRA SHARMAUpdated: Sunday, December 25, 2022, 11:38 PM IST
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Vallabh Bhawan Bhopal |

New equation  

A new equation is developing in the Madhya Pradesh unit of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).  A wedding ceremony, which recently took place in Delhi, has become the root of this new power balance. It has figured in talks among the leaders of the BJP. It was the reception of a nephew of a national general secretary of the party, which was held at the residence of a Union Minister in New Delhi.  Nevertheless, the relationship between these two leaders has never been warm. They have hardly been seen together in MP or in Delhi. Ergo, their intimacy has scripted the story of a new political equation. A BJP leader has played an important role in bringing these two leaders together. What is more, the presence of the Prime Minister at the reception has heartened the new combination. It is heard that these two leaders, along with others, went to the Prime Minister to invite him to the function. Many leaders of the party are, however, passing up the duo. Now, it is to be seen how one group weighs down the other. 

Danger ahead

A powerful minister and an IPS officer have picked a fight. The IPS officer was holding an important post. One of the reasons for his removal from the position was his conflict with the minister. Now, the officer has vowed to take revenge. Many disputes connected with the minister have come to light, and the IPS officer is adding fuel to these controversies. Apart from that, the IPS officer has told some of his close aides to gather evidence against the minister. And they are doing that. Sahib has also wooed the rivals of the minister, so that he may put the latter in hot water with the help of the evidence mustered through them. The same politician is the mentor of the minister as well as the IPS officer but, after the duo locked horns, he has favoured the minister. Their dispute may blow the lid off many secrets in the coming days. 

Minister has the last laugh

A minister and two IAS officers, working for a department, were involved in a dispute. But the minister had the last laugh, as he got both of them transferred. The duo locked horns with the minister over some issues and that continued for some time. The minister wrote the higher-ups for shifting the two officers from the department. At the outset, the efforts made by the minister came to naught. Nevertheless, he got them out of the department during the winter session of the Assembly. Besides, the minister has been able to bring an officer of his choice to the department. One of the two officers is very powerful, because a relative of his is very close to the ruling dispensation. In spite of that, his not getting posted anywhere, after his transfer from the department, indicates that the fight between the minister and him was intense. On the contrary, the other officer was very happy, because he wanted to get out of the department.

Fifth transfer 

The present ruling dispensation is not frequently transferring the IAS officers. Yet, there is a secretary who has been shifted for the fifth time in the past two and a half years. In March 2020, when the BJP took over the reins of power in the state toppling the Congress government, Sahib was shifted from a department in May. As he again picked a quarrel with the minister of his new department just after a few months of his posting there, he was posted to another department which he was independently handling. There, too, he picked a fight with the minister. Ergo, he was once more shifted. People in the corridors of power doubt whether he will maintain good relations with the minister of his present place of posting. The minister, heading the department, is sharp. So, for the secretary, it may be difficult to cope with the minister for a long time. 

In a tricky situation

A principal secretary of a department is in a tricky situation these days. An official who was working in the department took a few decisions against which petitions were filed. One of the cases includes contempt of court. Now, the principal secretary is busy handling these cases. A cool officer as he is, he has been fed up with court cases. He holds the charge of another department, too, but he is not happy about its functioning. A board associated with the department has become a home to corruption. As the officer is upright, he keeps away from the working of the board, so that his image remains clean. The principal secretary, who has always held important positions, is running out of luck these days. For that reason, he is not getting a department of his choice, and wherever he goes, he faces some difficulties.

Buzzword is 'wait'

A minister has to wait for some time more to get rid of a woman principal secretary. The female officer may be shifted to a department that functions under an additional chief secretary who is retiring next month. The minister is keen on getting rid of this officer. It is because of her, that the minister has little say in the department, so he is eagerly waiting for her transfer. There are whispers in the corridors of power that many officers have kept their eye on the department. A principal secretary, who is on an important assignment, may be shifted to the place where the female officer is working. Apart from that, another officer, who is going to be promoted to the post of principal secretary, is also keeping an eye on the department. This officer is influential. Should he be promoted and transferred from the place where he is working, he would get posting to the department where the female principal secretary is working. For that, the officer is sparing no effort.

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