Down but not out
Chief Minister Harish Rawat, though smarting under the liquor scam video’s negative impact, is down, but not yet out. The battled-hardened leader is trying his best to retain his ex personal secretary Mohammad Shahid under his thumb despite DoPT (department of Personnel and Training) having written to the state government to release him so that he, originally from Gujarat cadre, could be sent back to previous posting i.e. union government. CM is sitting on the order as he appealed to DoPT to allow him to stay put in Uttarakhand for the sake of the ongoing investigation. The wily IAS applied for one month’s El to be spared the heat. Things might have gone this way but for DoPT having stepped in with its order. The state chief secretary threw up his hands, saying that he could not have done anything to negate the DoPT order. But the craftiness of the Chief Minister has come into full focus after he used to probe card to stall the deportation of his former blue-eyed boy to Gujarat. Things are still mired in murkiness with DoPT keeping a stony silence on the CM’s appeal. But the observers feel that the die is cast for the state government once the Central department issued the order. There is hardly any room of maneuverability for the CM, they say. However, if he succeeds it would help him to keep other IASs who are wilting under tremendous pressure in the aftermath of the video scam tethered to him. And if he fails it would spell serious trouble for him for the remainder of his term as well as for the media. CM would suffer because the Babus would no longer dance to his tunes and media would suffer because the otherwise garrulous Babus would be perforce tight-lipped with the plight of Shahid hanging over their scared heads.
Honesty and ‘Extra’
The axiom runs-honesty is the best policy. But setting too much store by it may spell trouble for one, particularly around this time, when earning ‘extra’ has become part of the game. An officer known for his impeccable honesty who was recently promoted is now a worried man. On promotion, he was allotted a separate room in the secretariat. But to his woe, the service of the two fourth class staff- something he is entitled to- is proving elusive for him. One of them slipped out of his office, citing an excuse, making him wonder what had happened. He was sure he had not done anything that could have prodded the staff to leave him that way. He, however, let him go, taking things in his stride. But wrinkles of worry deepened on his brows after the second one showed signs of following suit. Desperate to unravel the mystery, he asked him straight away why they were reluctant to work with him. Making no bones about what is nudging them to go elsewhere, the staff said this is the first time in his service, running into several years, that he is unable to earn even chai pani (tea) expense, not to speak of the fabulous ‘extra’ which used to come his way previously rather effortlessly. The confession left the honest officer dumb-founded. Notably, the secretariat has been outsourcing the fourth class staff. They are generally taken from PRD or from amongst the home guards. Each of them is paid Rs 10,500 per month, an amount that proves pathetically insufficient for the ‘hapless’ fourth class staff, given the spiraling inflation.
