New Delhi: The Uttar Pradesh government, in a significant reshuffle of IAS officers weeks after the Lok Sabha elections, transferred 12 district magistrates (DMs) earlier this week. Incidentally, 11 of the districts where DMs have been changed saw the BJP lose, leading to allegations of political vendetta by the Opposition.
The DMs of Sitapur, Banda, Basti, Shrawasti, Kaushambi, Sambhal, Saharanpur, Moradabad and Hathras Lok Sabha constituencies were transferred Tuesday. In addition, the DMs of Kasganj, Chitrakoot, and Auraiya, which fall under the constituencies of Etah, Banda and Etawah, respectively, have also been changed. The BJP lost in all these constituencies except for Hathras.
Moradabad DM Manvendra Singh has been appointed as special secretary, AYUSH, while Basti DM Andhra Vamsi has been appointed as special secretary, stamp and registration.
ThePrint reached UP Chief Secretary D. S. Mishra over texts and calls for comment. This report will be updated if and when a response is received.
A government functionary from Lucknow, however, said, “These are only routine transfers that happen after every election.”
“They have nothing to do with the results,” the functionary added. “If that was the case, the DM of Ayodhya would have been the first to be changed.”
However, these transfers do come at a time when the BJP is assessing the reasons for its abysmal performance in Uttar Pradesh, where it won only 33 of the 80 Lok Sabha seats, down from 62 in 2019, the functionary said. The BJP task forces, sent to 78 districts of Uttar Pradesh to gather feedback about the reasons for the party’s setback in the state, have cited, among many other reasons, non-cooperation of district officials, especially DMs.
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‘Obvious pressure,’ says Oppn
The transfers have led to allegations of political vendetta by the Opposition.
“The government wanted all these officers to work on its whim. There was obvious pressure on them,” said UP Congress chief Ajay Rai. “But they did their job as per the Election Commission of India guidelines, and so they have been transferred…They (the government) are calling it routine transfers, but they are not.”
Abdul Hafiz Gandhi, the national spokesperson of the Samajwadi Party, also said that the transfers were part of a “political vendetta” by the Yogi Adityanath government. “These are not routine transfers. This is a clear attempt to politicise the bureaucracy,” he said, adding: “They (the officers) did their job to hold free and fair elections, and they (UP government) are transferring officers wherever the BJP lost.”
Given that the district administration functions as part of and on behalf of the Election Commission of India during elections, these “arbitrary transfers” are “anti-constitutional” and “anti-democratic”, Gandhi added.
Earlier this week, the UP government also transferred 16 IPS officers, including the police commissioners of Lucknow and Prayagraj — S. B. Shiradkar and Ramit Sharma.
However, the government functionary quoted earlier said the IPS transfers too are also “routine”.
Asked if they had any connection with the elections whatsoever, the functionary said, “There could be some places where it may be felt that they (the officers) did not do their jobs effectively and responsibly.”
‘More changes at senior levels soon’
In the coming days, there would be changes at senior levels in the bureaucracy as well, the government functionary said.
For instance, the tenure of Chief Secretary Durga Shankar Mishra, an IAS officer of the 1984 batch, ends on 30 June. He has already got three extensions. Sources in the UP government said that it would have a “demoralising effect” on the bureaucracy if Mishra, who should have retired two-and-a-half years ago as per protocol, is given yet another extension.
Arun Singhal, an officer of the 1987 batch, who is currently the director of the National Archives of India (NIA), and Manoj Kumar Singh of the 1988 batch, who is serving as agriculture production commissioner and industrial and infrastructure development commissioner in the UP government, are said to be contenders for the post. Singhal has been serving in the Centre since 2016.
The government will also have to appoint a full-time director general of police (DGP). Prashant Kumar, who has been serving as acting DGP of the state since February this year, is UP’s fourth consecutive acting DGP. “There are no technical grounds for him to not be appointed regular DGP. That will also have to happen soon,” a government source said.
There would also be other routine changes since several officers have been empaneled to go to the Centre, the source added.
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)
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