Twin records in Sushma’s name
We are talking about 1974 batch IAS officer of Madhya Pradesh cadre, Sushma Nath, who has recently created history by becoming India’s first woman finance secretary. But she can hold the post only till May. This is after taking into account the two-month extension Nath got from the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet this week — she was due to retire on 31 March. This means, Nath would also have the distinction of being the finance secretary for the shortest term in the ministry’s history.
Inauspicious gatherings?
The BJP Government has organized two mega gatherings of common people in the capital during the last two months. The objective was to showcase the popularity of the government among the common people and its sensitivity towards them.
However, by coincidence, both the gatherings turned out to be somewhat inauspicious. During both the `Karyakarta Gaurav Diwas’ held on November 29 (2010) to mark completion of Shivraj Singh Chouhan as CM and the Antyodaya Fair on January 30 to distributed benefits of different welfare scheme, one each of the attendees died. Both the deaths of elderly persons were attributed to heart attack, but given the extent of crowd, it was evident that the participants had a tough time during the gathering.
Artists could wait!
The annual Tansen Samman award ceremony of the state government, meant for the renowned artists would not be held on December 3 as it is done every year. Rather, it would be held on December 5.
Why? One would wonder! Are the artists who are to receive awards not available on the day? Or is there any very important preoccupation on part of the government?
Well indeed there is a preoccupation, which is of highest priority. The son of BJP national president Nitin Gadkari is getting married on December 3 and all the BJP leaders including MP CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan would be in attendance for three days. They couldn’t let that opportunity slip and of course, artists could wait!
Dump the dumper
Congress MLAs disrupted the Winter Session of Madhya Pradesh Assembly last week, demanding a CBI probe into the dumper scam involving the chief minister and his wife. Opposition accused chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan of renting dumper trucks to a leading industrial house.
The session, which began on November 22, was abruptly cut short by the Speaker, Ishwardas Rohani, after the supplementary budget was passed. However, the Congress agitation in the House lacked a credible edge as the party’s MLAs had failed to elect their own leader and were looking at the high command to fill the gap created by the demise of the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, Jamuna Devi.
The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party had a field day saying the Congress MLAs were using the dumper issue only to deflect attention from their disunity. They also pointed out that the dumper issue was old hat since the Congress’ campaign for the 2008 Assembly election was built around it and had been rejected by the people. So the Congress had better “dump it”. It seems the grand old party has to do a lot to strengthen its internal democracy.
Munna Bhai IAS officer
HE WAS an MBBS before joining the prestigious IAS in 1994. Unlike many other IAS who don the title “Dr” thanks to their on-the-job scholarly pursuits in universities, Dr Ravinder Singh, a West Bengal cadre IAS and a director in home ministry, is a real doctor who chose to become a civil servant.
Call him Ravinder Bhai MBBS who turned a Khalnayak of power corridors on Monday when he was arrested by investigating agency CBI after both his office and residence were raided. He was under surveillance for the last one month on the suspicion that he has been leaking sensitive documents related to the controversial Blackberry issue to a section of corporate.
This is the second major embarrassment for the home ministry during this year. In April, CBI searched the houses of two MHA officers including one of O Ravi, a 1983 batch IAS and joint secretary in MHA. Mr Ravi allegedly accepted a bribe of Rs 25 lakh from a private distiller. Another ministry official, RS Sharma, a director, was booked for accepting bribes to favour a bulletproof jacket firm.
Wanted: Warren Anderson. Got: Pamela Anderson
Contrary to the fact that the ratings of Colours Channel showing Big Boss increased significantly during the entry of sizzling Pamela Anderson, people of Bhopal particularly gas victims are not happy. Terming the entry of Hollywood celebrity to boost the show’s TRPs as “Ridiculous, gas victims said that they would be more happy to get Warren not Pamela.
Wedding bells now!
After going through intense period of official business, maintaining law and order situation and peace during Ayodhya verdict and festive seasons, the two top administrators of state have now got busy for very personal yet matching reasons.
Both Chief Secretary Avni Vaish and Director General of Police S.K. Rout are making arrangements for the weddings of their respective children. Both the marriages are to be solemnised in capital at different venues during the coming weeks and the fathers are naturally taking care of all the necessary preparations.
We hope the marriage ceremonies would be grand success, given the fact that the fathers are strong organising skills.
Mysterious diaries!
Whenever a major Income Tax raid occurs in State, some bureaucrats and politicians literally have their heart in their mouth. Reason: the omnipresent diary with their names that the IT sleuths always seem to recover from the raid.
However, given the past trend, the earners of unaccounted money really need not worry, because while the IT officials always leak out the information about the `explosive diary’, they hardly seem to take any follow up action on its basis and no notices are served or raids conducted immediately afterwards.
So the diary and its mention continues to be a matter of mystery for commoners while the bigwigs really are happy that the mystery continues.
MP bureaucrats are lucky
In a development of far reaching consequences, the Union Government has taken offence to the top bureaucrats of the rank of secretaries grabbing foreign trips that can as well be undertaken by junior officers.
If these directives implemented in Madhya Pradesh many senior babus who are planning for a forigen jaunt would be dprived of their trips. In a confidential note to all Union ministers at the instance of the Prime Minister, Cabinet Secretary K M Chandrasekhar has stressed that the secretaries’ foreign trip may be recommended “only in such circumstances, in which representation at a lower level is not advisable.” Moreover, their participation in international conferences and meetings should commensurate with the level of participation of other countries. The note says absence of secretaries from Delhi should be restricted to the minimum and in any case for not more than a week at a time. Also, both ministers and secretaries should not be away from Delhi at the same time on foreign tour, unless the cleared by the Prime Minister.
Secretaries are also prohibited from going abroad when Parliament is in session. IAS officers of Madhya Pradesh heaved a sign of relief as these directives are not for them.
A bumpy ride to Khajuraho
The Madhya Pradesh government had chosen Khajuraho, the famous world heritage destination, to host the Global Investors Summit 2010 (October 22-23) as this temple town symbolises the glory of the state.
That is all fine, but the backbreaking road journey from Bhopal to Khajuraho must have told investors another side of the story.
The road is good from Bhopal till Rahatgarh near Sagar. After that, because of the pathetic condition of the highway, one gets the feeling that one has entered a region of backwardness.
It is a tragedy that this highway, which should have been treated as a crucial part of the economic infrastructure — so essential for putting the state on the fast track of development — continues to remain neglected and is a testimony to government apathy and neglect. Is anyone listning!
Its too long wait for Uma
After the recent Ayodhya verdict, a beaming Uma Bharti had hoped that she would soon be allowed to return to the party. But it seems that BJP leaders, who are busy celebrating the verdict, have forgotten about Bharti. But Bharti herself has not forgotten the fact that all it took Jaswant Singh to stage a comeback in the saffron ranks was a plane ride with Advani. Since her expulsion, Bharti has flown with Advani thrice — to Joshimath, Raipur and to Somnath — only to find that the party’s doors continue to remain firmly shut. The word in the BJP camp is that though a number of leaders want Bharti back, some netas in Madhya Pradesh, especially the chief minister, Shivraj Singh Chauhan and BJP State head Prabhat Jha continue to foil her reinstatement.
Power struggle
Appointment of 1992 batch IAS officer, Pankaj Agrawal on the post of Chairman, MPSEB has surprised everyone. Many senior officials including Chief Secretary, Avni Vaish and the powerful Secretary of Energy department were in the race. But selection of Agrawal for the post is a lesson to some bureaucrats who started thinking that after the departure of former Chief Secretary, Rakesh Sahni from Mantralaya, he lost grip on Mantralaya affairs. Appointment of Agrawal is an indication that top floor of Mantralaya is still powerful than the fourth floor. Now it is interesting to see how the young officer will manage affairs of the defunct board!
The Lord’s own lawyer
The articulate Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and senior lawyer, Ravi Shankar Prasad, is now all set to enter the party’s elite club for he has represented none other than Lord Ram in the Ayodhya case.
The verdict in the case has come as a major boost to Prasad’s climb up the slippery saffron ladder. In the Sangh Parivar, which had used the Ayodhya issue to reach the centrestage of national politics in the Eighties and Nineties, there can be no greater service than defending Lord Ram. And it fell on the former Information and Broadcasting Minister to do so. He not only upstaged the BJP’s legal eagle, Arun Jaitley, but also turned some of the self-styled Hindutva icons green with envy.
Reverse swing
Prabhat Jha, the state chief of the BJP for Madhya Pradesh, had shot to fame couple of years before. The reason? He had turned down two bottles of expensive liquor gifted to him by Vijay Mallya. In his letter of refusal, which was released to the media, Jha had taken a high moral ground, insisting that liquor had no place in his life as per his indoctrination by the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. Last week, the tables were turned on Jha rather shockingly when his son got involved in a furious pub brawl in Raipur. Apparently, this seedy joint in the Chhattisgarh capital has quite a reputation — including the unbecoming conduct of bar dancers
Devotional dilemma
The BJP Government in State is facing a situation that could be called devotional rather than an ideological dilemma. At the instance of the Supreme Court, the government has finally started to take measures for removal of the illegal religious structures in State, the number of which is whopping 51624.
Interestingly however, despite submitting an affidavit in Supreme Court and knowing the position vis a vis the illegal religious structures, the BJP government did not initiate any action before the Supreme Court ruling. Rather after submission of its affidavit, several more structures have come up across the State. It is not to mention that majority of these structures are naturally Hindu Temples, that causes the BJP government somewhat of a dilemma before initiating action.
Now perhaps, under the protection of Supreme Court directive, the government could go ahead and do what is its bidding.
Ministerial fraud
It might be that very sharp headed youth has managed to dupe the state SC and ST welfare minister or perhaps it was done with the knowledge of the minister. But the fact remains that the minister Vijay Shah, who manages to get into controversy, is in receipt of notice from his own department seeking reply about a youth who seemingly disappeared with a sum of Rs 7.5 lakh approved to him for higher studies abroad under a government scheme meant for backward class students.
This youth had given the residence address of Vijay Shah in his application and when the department verified his claim he was found to be missing. Suspecting fraud, the department has decided to issue notice to the youth and a notice has naturally been sent to the residence of the minister as it is the forwarding address of the youth.
Either the minister is facing consequences of helping out of turn or has been defrauded by some really sharp brained youth.
Saints and cops
The Madhya Pradesh cops are a harried lot. Petty crimes are shooting up in the state and recently hundreds of tonnes of explosives that entered the state have gone missing.
Critics have cited the missing cargo of explosives as a stark example of the inefficiency of the police force and its lack of preparedness in a state that is grappling with Maoism.
The cops have neither the wherewithal nor the verve to swoop down on highly-motivated terror groups or Maoists who have the know-how to wreak havoc using small quantities of explosives and detonators.
But to be fair to them, cops are not supermen. They are ordinary mortals like the rest of us. And when in trouble they seek divine help, also like most of us.
Against this backdrop, it is understandable that the police chief S.K. Raut went to the abode of the Jain saint Tarun Muni Sagar last week to seek his blessings.
In fact, the DGP asked the saint, who has renounced all material comfort, including clothing, to motivate the police officers in uniform.
Forgotten Arjun
No one cares for a “powerless” politician. Former Union Minister Arjun Singh must have realised this to his dismay when he reached the AICC headquarters last week to witness Congress president Sonia Gandhi’s coronation. After the brief function was over, everyone was in a hurry to leave. Most of the Congress leaders ignored Singh and walked past him except AICC general secretary Digvijay Singh, who followed his one-time mentor till the porch. When he realised that Arjun’s car had not yet arrived, with due respect he made the latter sit in Minister of State for Planning V Narayanasamy’s chamber. It was only after seeing Arjun off that Digvijay took his seat in his chamber
Uma to say good bye to politics!
Known for giving surprises and her fiery speeches, the firebrand leader, Uma Bharti is all set to give another big surprise soon. If sources are to be believed, the former Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh is likely to take ‘political sanyas’. Indecisiveness of the central leadership of BJP to back her in the party folds appears to the reason for the unprecedented decision. Sources close to Bharti claimed that she was disappointed over her humiliation because despite the pressure of the RSS, the BJP yet to take any decision on her political future. Though her relatives are still persuading her to recondider her decision but, like previous occasions, Uma is adamant. If this happens, many leaders of BJP would be happy for keeping her away from the party. But the fact remains that the party, which is grappling with the shortage of mass leaders, would certainly lose a good orator and leader.
Only Lip Service in MP
If the recent action taken against the mighty IAS officers lobby is taken into consideration, it appears that Madhya Pradesh Government did nothing unusual against erring babus and is merely patting its back by taking routine decisions.
Three IAS officers have been compulsorily retired for an unsatisfactory service record in Himachal Pradesh and Tamil Nadu. According to babu-watchers, these decisions were taken after the two state governments sought permission from the Department of Personnel and Training for compulsorily retiring these babus.
The final decision, apparently, was taken by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC), which found merit in the reports submitted by the HP and Tamil Nadu governments. The move has undoubtedly warned incompetent IAS babus they can no longer take their sarkari kursi for granted. Is Madhya Pradesh Government is really serious in taking action?
The bribe mystery!
While the Principal Secretary of the Women and Child Development Department apparently set a good example when she supposedly blew whistle on a woman officer of the department who was allegedly offering her wife, the action of Luvleen Kakkad is surprisingly been looked upon with a bit of apprehension.
There are questions in the bureaucratic circles about the mysterious disappearance of the envelope in which the bribe was reportedly offered and there are talks about the fact that no officer of the department dares to offer bribe to head of the department without doing a proper homework as to whether the action would be a hit or miss. Strange that the lady officer acted so naïve, it is being said.
Perils of a loose tongue
If there is a “foot-in-the-mouth” award, it should be given to the Madhya Pradesh BJP president Prabhat Jha.
He recently stirred up a controversy with his comment that security personnel belonging to paramilitary forces such as the Central Reserve Police Force and Border Security Force are no less than dacoits and smugglers.
Speaking at Indore the other day, the state BJP chief said Naxalites were using weapons and firearms purchased from the security personnel. After his comments created uproar, Mr Jha quickly retracted his statement and said he held the security forces in high esteem. He added that his remarks were only aimed at some wayward cops acting against the national interest.
Despite this, a petition requesting that Jha be tried for sedition has been filed in a local court by a state Congress spokesman
Termination heat on Joshi couple
Soon after the Income Tax department recently submitted its second interim report to the Madhya Pradesh Government on the disgraced IAS couple--Arvind and Tinu Joshi-- who were suspended after IT sleuths recovered Rs Three crore in cash from their residence during a raid this year, rumors of their termination are doing the rounds in Mantralaya.
The report contains details of investments by the Joshi’s in properties and share market.
Following the submission of the report the possibility of further action against the suspended IAS couple has increased and it is possible that they might even be terminated from service. Meanwhile, a section of officers are trying to pacify the issue.
`Madam Controversy’
Some IAS officials of State have a way of remaining ever in controversy. One such officer is the glamorous Smita Gate Chandra, who often gets into news, though most often for wrong reasons. People might not have forgotten the kind of controversy her marriage to Nitish `Krishna’ Bharadwaj generated.
Madam controversy is in news again. The Union Government has decided to terminate her deputation to central government before time after receiving numerous complaints about her functioning with the union textile ministry where she was posted. Smita Gate Chandra Bharadwaj is now on her way back to State. It remains to be seen whether she brings back with her the knack of being controversial.
Scrap master plan!
Even as the decision of the State Government to revisit the Draft Master Plan 2020 for Bhopal came into questions owing to violation of legal provisions, the newly appointed commissioner of Town and Country Planning Ashish Upadhyaya has recommended to the State government to scrap the plan itself.
Given fact that the officials earlier occupying the same post were facing controversy for their role in formulating the `askew’ master plan, the incumbent seems to be quite sure about the inadequacy of the plan and has recommended not just revisiting but total scrapping. It remains to be seen whether the government heeds to the recommendation.
`Boozing Hut’ flourishes
The incumbent or probably the vastu experts might have decided to remove the famous `Thinking Hut’ set up on the premises of the Rashtrapati Bhavan by the former president Dr APJ Abdul Kalam, but its infamous prototype in Bhopal flourishes.
The Manipuri style `Thinking Hut’ on the Rashtrapati Bhavan campus gained popularity after it was known that Dr Kalam often spent his thinking time there are also penned quite considerable parts of his two books in this structure.
The infamous prototype at BHEL Executive Director’s official residence - a `boozing hut’ as it is known -was constructed during the time of a former ED and it is common knowledge that this hut continues to flourish even now. Good things do not last long and vice-versa.
Jugran’s stint over
State Information Commissioner Dinesh Jugran is set to lay down his office today after a two year stint wit the important public office. As his post becomes vacant, speculations are already afoot as to whether the honorable post would go to another retired officer or this time an IAS would be able to make inroads for it.
It might be mentioned that though Jugran, former Director General of Police of State, was given posting as one of the information commissioners, his name was initially in race for the post of Chief Information Commissioner of State, where the former Principal Secretary of Law Department, PP Tiwari got the final posting.
All worked up over Paul
With a 100 per cent strike rate, Paul the Octopus is the new hero that the world is looking up to. India is no exception. Paul is supposed to be in high demand with Indian politicians, who want to bring him to this country and treasure him as the resident soothsayer.
Too many questions need to be answered: Will Rahul Gandhi be the next prime minister? Or perhaps Shivraj Singh will continue? Or will Congress at all retain power at the Centre after the next general elections? Political leaders have already started taking Paul’s name to attack Opposition parties.
Recently during a discussion on Anup Mishra, when a minister claimed that he will not return in the cabinet, his colleague responded quickly saying you are not Paul the Octopus, so you cannot read the future correctly. Bureaucrats are also discussing about the fate of the Chief Secretary and thinking of consulting Paul Baba about his successor.
Warning to Gaur and Kailash !
A day after two senior minister of Madhya Pradesh came openly in support of Uma Bharti, the BJP high command has issued a warning to -- Babulal Gaur and Kailash Vijayvargiya -- asking them to refrain from sharing with the media their views on Uma's return to BJP.
State unit of BJP is divided on the issue of Uma Bharti's return to the party. Chief Minister Chouhan and Gaur are opposed to her while Sumitra Mahajan and Vijayvargiya want her back.
Gaur had offered to resign from his post recently when the issue of Uma's return came up for discussion. Vijayvargiya is openly saying that Uma should rejoin the BJP. The spat between the two became public, putting the party in an embarrassing position and prompting it to issue the statement.
It appears that Uma's case is different as her return would threaten the clout of several senior party leaders. Being a maverick leader with a mass following, her return to BJP would also diminish the stature of leaders from Madhya Pradesh, like Chouhan and Gaur, they say.
