Monday Mirchi : Uncertainty among TS babus

Come elections, ticket aspirants in various parties will be anxious about whether they would get it in merit or would they be forced to switch sides or contest as a rebel. Almost similar uncertainty has now gripped IAS and IPS officers in Telangana State. They don’t know whether they will be allowed to continue in TS or reverted to AP. Present Telangana DGP Anjani Kumar is also Andhra cadre IPS officer. Amidst the High Court’s decision to hear the pleas of these officials individually, Anjani has attended the All India Conference of Directors-General/ Inspectors-General of Police meet presided over by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In contrast, Somesh Kumar did not attend the Chief Secretaries’ conference, which was held in Dharamshala a couple of days before the judgment on his cadre allocation was delivered. Anjani Kumar is in Delhi, with proceedings in Court on his case scheduled for January27. Bureaucratic circles are discussing if Anjani, who does not want to go the way Somesh went, will make use of his presence in Delhi to bring respite to him as well as 11 other officers of AP cadre. That apart, those holding senior positions in TS are not sure if they would get comparable, vacant position in AP.

Somesh ‘Anna’ pick what you want
When TS Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar was reverted to the Andhra Pradesh cadre recently for political reasons, his reputation preceded him in the neighbouring state. Somesh followed DoPT orders scrupulously and reported in Andhra Pradesh at a time when everybody in TS was anxious to know what next. With utmost modesty, when Somesh introduced himself to Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy, the latter addressed him as ‘Anna’ (a term Jagan uses to refer to almost all bureaucrats in the state) and said he needed no introduction. A little bird told us that, after pleasantries, Somesh, reflecting his cordial ties even with Jagan, was given a choice to pick his post. Still, Somesh politely let it be known that it was the Chief Minister’s prerogative to assign him a post.

Wait and watch
Alhough Somesh Kumar has dutifully reported to Andhra Pradesh, Telangana bureaucratic circles are not yet done with him. The talk in the corridors of power is that Somesh will certainly return in some capacity, considering the kind of work he used to handle. Some of the subjects he had handled single-handedly would need at least a half a dozen bureaucrats, they say. So, they are banking on rumours, rife in TS as well as AP, that he might go for VRS and eventually take up an advisory role in TS. However, since advisors don’t call the shots in Telangana, some bureaucrats have begun discussing whether Somesh’s new avatar would be political or apolitical. In any case, there is hardly any discussion on the possibility of his switch for good to Andhra Pradesh.

Lesson for ‘education reformist’?
The Andhra Pradesh High Court has sentenced IAS officer Budithi Rajasekhar and IRS officer Ramakrishna to a month’s imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 2,000 each on them for not implementing a judgment given in a case related to service matters. Rajasekhar, who had worked as Secretary in the Higher Education Department, was characterized by his peers as ‘education reformist’. Chief Minister Y S Jagan Mohan Reddy himself has hailed him as such. Bureaucratic circles are not able to stomach the predicament of an official who had been considered somewhat inspirational.

Home Minister’s gaffe
Be it name change or incumbent change in high positions, it takes time for some to get accustomed to the change and mind it for good. TS Home Minister Mahamood Ali made a gaffe during a recent event. In his speech, he said ‘DGP Mahender Reddy garu’ only to be immediately prompted and corrected that it should be ‘DGP Anjani Kumar garu’. So far, others, including the Chief Secretary who has attended public meetings, have not faced such a situation. Babus are not immune to such faux pas. Bureaucratic circles continue to refer to BRS as TRS. They cannot afford to do it at least with ECI.

Governor spelt it out
Governor Tamilisai Soundararajan, while continuing to bristle at protocol issues in her interface with the TS government, however, seems to have softened her stance on bureaucrats. She has always asked: ‘why officials are not following protocol’. However, the other day, noticeably for the first time, she reworded her peeve: “Is CM guiding collectors not to follow protocol?”

Bureaucratic circles have acknowledged, though in a hush-hush manner, the change in her wording. A little bird told us that the Chief Minister does not expect officials to talk to the media. It is almost like things won’t change. Whispers will continue in the corridors of power, though a new Chief Secretary has taken over.