Two peas in a pod
A senior IAS officer is making all efforts to stop the extension of services of an about-to-retire female officer who is holding an important position. He is sparing no effort to achieve his target. By the time the Ma’am retires, the Election Commission will have implemented the Model Code of Conduct for the Lok Sabha election. If she retires on time, the officer, who is trying to stop the extension of her services, will be the senior-most bureaucrat in the state. Against this backdrop, his claim on the top position in the bureaucracy will be very strong. Sahib recently met some politicians and tried to convince them that if the Madam’s services are not extended, he will have no problem in getting the top job. When the officer was returning to the state from the Centre, those close to him said he would be the most powerful officer in the state. On the other hand, those who are in favour of the Ma’am getting an extension of services are not sitting idle. They are pulling out all the stops that she may achieve her goal. Her husband is also working hard so that her services are extended – at least for six months.
Sarkar Sharanam Gachhami
There was a time when a Sahib holding an important position frowned upon the government on petty issues. Because his inflated pride came in the way of day-to-day work, Sahib threatened everyone working with him that he would put them in trouble. But with the change of head of the government, his tune has also changed. There are reports that the officer is not only dancing to the tune of the government but also regularly meeting the higher-ups in the administration. The sudden change in the conduct of this egoistic man has puzzled many in the corridors of power. The chances of his rehabilitation are dim, but there are speculations over the reasons for a sudden change in his behaviour. It is said that he is working on a special list. Sahib is planning to entrap those whose names the list contains. He directed the officials not to do anything without asking him, but Sahib’s conduct has baffled many in the organisation he is working for.
Money matter
A secretary-rank officer is unhappy after his transfer to another department. A few close aides of the officer took dough in advance from a group of people for some work related to his previous department. The officer also got his share of the brass. He thought he would do the work of those people from whom he took the bribe, after the budget session. Nevertheless, his problems increased, because he was transferred before it. Those who gave money in advance are now asking for its return, but the officer in no mood to do that. Because there is no scope for off-stage dealings in the department where he is working, he cannot return the amount. He is using a politician to get posting in an important department, so that he may have a source of making money to return the sweetener he took from others. He spends most of the money on fulfilling his desires.
Chaos prevails
There are murmurs over the transfer of two IPS officers in the state bureaucracy. Amid the whispers, what is important is that a piece of information about the posting of one of the officers had been leaked three days before it was officially announced. The story was that the officer was going to get a plum posting. As soon as the information was revealed, the other person who was also trying to grab the position swung into action and made all efforts to get that post. Because of his efforts, his share of carrots was also given. Now, both have reached a compromise and look very happy. The department, where these postings were made, has hogged the limelight these days. It is virtually in chaos. A minister of the department, a former minister and a few officials are trying to damage one another. The confusion the department is in may cause a major trouble to the government in the coming days. Such chaos previously entailed troubles to some officers.
In a dilemma
A senior bureaucrat is in a state of confusion. When the government was changed, he expected a plum posting. But because the officer was not on good terms with the politician who is holding the reins of power in the state, his dreams were not translated into reality. Now, he thinks he will be the first officer on whom the axe may fall. At a meeting with the politician, the officer cleared his position, but that did not help him much. His position is left hanging in the air, and this is what is troubling him. He has got the same instructions as he received from the previous government. It has been indicated to the officer that the minister of the department should not be given any importance. As the minister is also of overpowering nature, the officer is in a tight spot, and wants get out of this mess.
Utterly humiliated
“Bade be aabru hokar tere kooche se hum nikle (I have emerged utterly humiliated from the street where you live.” This line of Mirza Ghalib reminds everyone of the way an Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) had to quit Mantralaya. Sahib spared no effort to please the Madam after she took over the most important post in the state administration. The ACS thought his efforts would yield fruits in the form of his getting an important department. It did not happen, and he was sent to the loop line. Nevertheless, after his exit from Mantralaya, some employees heaved a sigh of relief, because when Sahib was there, these employees had to suffer. They had to give a ‘dakshina‘ even for good entries in their confidential reports. However chastened he may have been, there is no change in his attitude. In the present department, too, he is following the same style of working as he was doing in Mantralaya.
