With the proposal of annointing 1983 batch IPS officer OP Singh being turned down by the Prime Minister’s Office after about 20-days of suspense, the race for the top cop’s post has once again gained momentum.
Sources said that the name of the new incumbent will be announced in the next 48-hours and it was now to be seen whether the government preferred to go with seniority or appoint a blue-eyed officer, who could continue till the next Parliament poll in 2019.
Sources also said that to avoid confrontation between two top leaders of BJP over appointment of OP Singh, as the UP Polcie boss, the file for relieving Singh from the Centre had been kept pending for almost 20 days.
Sources further claimed that the PMO on Friday, denied to relieve Singh as DG of Central Industrials Security Forces (CISF) citing no appropriate replacement for him in the CISF. However, no one in the state government confirmed the PMO’s denial till late Friday evening and even maintained that Singh would soon take over as DGP of UP.
Singh’s name as the new DGP was announced on New Year eve after the retirement of Sulkhan Singh. However, even after 20-days, the UP Polic continued to be headless and there was no word or official communication from the government. It was a top priority decision announced by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath - but his government now claimed to be awaiting the Centre’s response on the matter.
Sources said some political dispute between senior BJP leaders over the appointment of Singh led to a controversy due to which UP government was not pressing for his release from the Centre.
On January 13, the Centre had cleared the names of 20 officials releasing them for state duty but the name of Singh was missing. This extraordinary delay has left political and bureaucratic circles abuzz. With both the Centre and the state being ruled by the BJP, this inordinate delay was all the more baffling and embarrassing.
A senior police officer said, “In normal course, such high priority files can’t remain stuck with Centre, especially in BJP regime which has been known for speedy decisions. The obvious question then is why is the Centre not clearing the file IJ”
Sources in UP government said that there was a technical mistake committed by state government and instead of sending Singh’s file to Appointment Committee of Cabinet (ACC)), it was sent directly to the PMO.
Others said that as Singh was close to a powerful lobby run by a former Chief Minister of UP, hence the government gaven a second thought on his matter. Besides, the IPS officer was posted as lucknow SSP when the infamous Guest House incident happened when BSP president Mayawati was attacked in June, 1995.
With UP police being virtually headless for around three weeks now, several key decisions - related to appointments of officers in various departments - are in limbo. It is not a good sign for the state where law and order remains a key issue. However, the delay is turning into an embarrassment for CM Yogi Adityanath.
State government spokesperson and minister Sidharth Nath Singh tried to play down the matter. “The file is with the Centre. It has taken some time, but it will soon be cleared and OP Singh will join the new office,” Singh said.
Principal Secretary (Home) Arvind Kumar too refused to speak on the matter but said that very soon the new DGP will join. On the other hand, the opposition has started to play up the issue to take potshots at the CM.
Congress’s spokesperson Akhilesh Pratap Singh said, “The matter again establishes that all was not well between the PM and the CM. Yogi Adityanath is just a rubber stamp and the state was actually being run by the PMO.”
Samajwadi Party spokesperson and MlC Sunil Yadav echoed similar sentiments. “All is not well in the BJP. Delay in appointment indicates strain in relations within. If the CM is unable to get his decisions implemented, then he will naturally be seen as a weak CM,” said Yadav.
Meanwhile, many senior officers renewed their campaign to become the DGP. The officers who names were seen as top contenders included Praveen Singh (1982 batch), followed by Surya Kumar Shukla (1982 batch). Interestingly, the name of DG, Intelligence, Bhavesh Kumar (1987) batch has suddenly emerged in the race as he is supposedly close to power corridors.