Dilli Ka Babu: Jammu dominates J&K bureaucracy

For the first time in the history of Jammu and Kashmir since 1947, the chief secretary as well as director-general of police are both from the Jammu region.

Dr Shesh Pal Vaid, a 1986-batch IPS officer, was named the new DGP from this month. Meanwhile, the state chief secretary B.R. Sharma took over during Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s PDP-BJP rule in September last.

Sources say that in the past 70 years, J&K natives have been simultaneously heads of the state bureaucracy and police seven times — often for brief periods. While there have been four instances of a chief secretary and DGP hailing from the Kashmir Valley it’s a first for Jammu.

While this confluence may be entirely a coincidence, it has occurred when the BJP is ruling at the Centre and is also partner in the coalition with Kashmir-centric PDP. Usually, it is the Valley that tends to dominate the state bureaucracy, but this time it’s turned out to be Jammu!

Election rap in Punjab

With state Assembly elections now imminent in Punjab, the role of bureaucrats will be under scrutiny. The ruling Shiromani Akali Dal government, which is fighting incumbency, is trying not to tread on the toes of the Election Commission. Recently, the state government had invited the ire of the EC over constituents of a panel of cops which would be deployed to replace those cops and bureaucrats who are found guilty of misconduct or favouring any political party during the elections.

The government’s initial list contained an overwhelming number of state service cops, which the EC strongly objected to. The Badal government has now submitted a new list.

Out of a panel of 17 SSPs sent by the SAD to the EC, only one is a promotee cop from the Punjab Police Service. The rest are direct Indian Police Service officers, also known as regular recruits. Similarly, 11 IG-rank officers sent for the panel, too, have just one state service officer while others are from the 1993-batch and onwards.

Obviously, the government does not want to risk any confrontation with the EC which could jeopardise its poll prospects.

MEA and the waiting game

The buzz in Dilli’s babu corridors is whether foreign secretary S. Jaishankar, who is retiring this month, will be given an extension or whether India will get a new foreign secretary.

The keen interest is understandable considering that an extension to Mr Jaishankar would cast a major ripple through the ministry of external affairs. According to sources, as many as 10 senior diplomats will retire without getting a shot at the coveted slot. They include India’s ambassador to Italy Anil Wadhwa, secretary (West) Sujata Mehta, Indian ambassador to the US, Navtej Sarna, secretary (economic relations) Amar Sinha, Indian ambassador to Nepal, Ranjit Rae, dean of the Foreign Service Institute and director-general of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations, Amrendra Khatua, to name a few.

While many insist it’s likely that the foreign secretary may get an extension given his proximity to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, it is also pointed out that Mr Modi had gone against advice and convention when he ended Sujatha Singh’s term midway and brought in Mr Jaishankar as her replacement.

That closeness holds but knowing Mr Modi, who likes to keep everyone guessing, the wait may be agonising for those in contention and even for the incumbent.