Patna: In the last 10 days, as many as 18 former Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and Indian Police Service (IPS) officers have joined poll strategist-turned-activist Prashant Kishor’s ‘Jan Suraaj’ (good governance) campaign in Bihar, while one former senior police officer has been inducted by the Lalu Prasad Yadav’s Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD).
While former bureaucrats joining politics is not new, the sudden rush of retired government officers towards political platforms this month has baffled old-timers and analysts.
“It reflects the fact that the line between the legislative and executive is getting blurred,” remarked former Bihar director general of police (DGP) Abhayanand, while speaking to ThePrint Tuesday.
On 2 May, six former IAS officers from Bihar assembled at the Jan Suraaj office in Patna to join the campaign — a 3,500-km padyatra — started by Kishor on 2 October last year. The move is being dubbed a precursor to his entry into Bihar politics.
The retired civil servants are Ajay Kumar Dwivedi, former special secretary, state cabinet; Arvind Kumar Singh, former district magistrate of Kaimur and Purnia, who was a secretary at the time of his retirement; Lalan Yadav, former district magistrate of Nawada and Katihar; Tulsi Hazar, retired administrator of Bettiah Raj; Suresh Sharma, who retired as a joint secretary in the Bihar health department; and Gopal Narayan Singh, who retired as joint secretary in the state’s rural affairs department.
Ajay Dwivedi, Arvind Kumar, Lalan Yadav and Tulsi Hazar are all from the 1981 IAS batch, while Gopal Singh is from the 1984 batch and Suresh Sharma from the 31st Bihar Administration Service batch, ThePrint had reported.
On 7 May, a dozen former IPS officers joined Kishor’s campaign — Chhattisgarh DGP S.K. Paswan, retired Bihar Inspector General (IG) Jitendra Mishra, retired Deputy Inspector General (DIG) K.B. Singh, retired Inspector General Umesh Singh, retired DIG Anil Singh, former DIG S.K. Jha, retired IG A.K. Singh, former DGP R.K. Mishra, and former IPS officers C.P. Kiran, Mohammed Rahman Momin, Shanker Jha, and Dilip Mishra.
भारतीय पुलिस सेवा के 12 रिटायर्ड अफसर जन सुराज मुहिम से जुड़े। pic.twitter.com/yaMdSoNPvh
— Jan Suraaj (@jansuraajonline) May 7, 2023
Speaking to ThePrint, V.S. Dubey, former chief secretary of Bihar and Jharkhand, said: “For the first two years of training, IAS and IPS officers are taught that they should stay away from politics and be neutral. But I find several serving officers quitting (service) to join politics.”
Remarking that “it appears the bureaucrats are craving power and money”, Dubey further said that “even a retired IAS or IPS officer gets a handsome pension for the services they have given. They should be satisfied with that”.
According to Dubey, the distinction between the executive and legislative only exists on paper. “Even during service, many (officers) tend to identify with one politician or another,” he added.
Also read: Attacks on Modi, Lalu, Nitish — how Prashant Kishor is seeking own space in politics with padyatra
‘Drawn to PK because of his vision’
Speaking to ThePrint, former DGP R.K. Mishra, a 1984-batch IPS officer, said his joining of the Jan Suraaj Abhiyan was not about electoral politics.
“If I had to join politics, I would have joined a mainstream political party,” he asserted. “I have served in various governments led by the Congress, RJD and JD(U). I have seen ideologies like socialism and Marxism die. Instead there is the poisonous communal and caste politics (these days). One side says exclude the upper castes and the other says exclude the minorities,” he added.
“I am attracted to PK because of his vision to root out corruption and other poisonous trends,” Mishra added.
He further pointed out that not all those joining Jan Suraaj will be given tickets if the outfit turns into a political party. “Some who have contributed to society while in service and are popular among the locals may be given tickets,” he said.
However, former Chhattisgarh DGP Paswan told ThePrint, “I am happy to serve the people again. I come from a section of society in which becoming an engineer or officer is still a dream.”
On 7 May, the RJD inducted a former DGP of Tamil Nadu, Dr Karuna Sagar. The 1991-batch IPS officer joined the party in Patna in the presence of Deputy Chief Minister Tejashwi Yadav.
The former DGP, who belongs to the Bhumihar upper caste and hails from the state’s Jehanabad, said he had joined the RJD as he was inspired by the ideology of party president Lalu Prasad and the work being done by his son Tejashwi.
An RJD MLA who did not wish to be named told ThePrint that Karuna Sagar “may be a replacement in the future” for party MLC and former Bihar law minister Kartik Singh. “The RJD is desperate to replace Kartik Singh, a Bhumihar, who had to be dropped (from the Bihar cabinet) last year because of his involvement in a kidnapping case,” the MLA said.
Among former bureaucrats holding posts in the government currently is former IAS officer R.K. Singh, who is minister of power and new and renewable energy.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)