When Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the foundation stone of the Ken-Betwa link project—that will bring surplus water of Ken River in Madhya Pradesh to the water-deficit Betwa river basin in Uttar Pradesh—on 25 December in Khajuraho, there was one prominent absentee from the landmark event that set tongues wagging.
While Modi was flanked by Madhya Pradesh CM Mohan Yadav, Uttar Pradesh CM Yogi Adityanath was conspicuous by his absence, and word on the grapevine is that his name wasn’t even considered when the list of attendees for the event was being finalised.
Given that dignitary names for PM-led events are always cleared by the PMO, it struck many as peculiar that only the chief minister of one stakeholder state was present at the launch of a project the BJP has long been showcasing as India’s first river interlinking initiative. The BJP had even mentioned it in its election manifesto in 2019.
This stood out even more considering that just eight days earlier, on 17 December in Jaipur, an event for the signing of a tripartite agreement on the Parvati-Kalisindh-Chambal river link project saw the CMs of both MP and Rajasthan in attendance. The Parvati and Kalisindh rivers are tributaries of the Chambal in MP, with their waters flowing through both MP and Rajasthan.
That’s not all. Many pointed out that in March 2021, during the tripartite signing agreement for the Ken-Betwa project, both then Jal Shakti Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and the CMs of MP and UP—Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Yogi Adityanath, respectively—were present. Modi had joined that event virtually.
Why Manipur chief secretary was called back to Centre
When Manipur chief secretary Vineet Joshi was brought to the Centre as higher education secretary last week, the explanation proffered by officials was that it was done for health reasons. It has since emerged that there is more to it than meets the eyes. It is suggested that Joshi wasn’t comfortable with CM Biren Singh’s style of functioning, especially the way the state finances were being managed.
As the administrative head of the state, it was Joshi who had to ultimately clear all important files. Joshi is known to be an upright and efficient officer, who had considerable experience working in the education ministry in the past. That worked in his favour when the Centre decided to recall him and appoint him higher education secretary.
Joshi was sent to Manipur on 7 May last year—just 4 days after violent clashes rocked Manipur—to take charge of the situation. At that time, Joshi was picked for the challenging assignment as he knew the system, having served in senior positions in the state and also because he spoke Manipuri well. Moreover, since he had served as principal secretary to CM for about a year back in 2017, it was felt he had a reasonable working equation with him. But at that time, Biren Singh had just taken over as Manipur CM for the first time.
It is not just Joshi who has had problems with Biren Singh’s style of functioning. It is common knowledge in the corridors of power that Manipur security adviser Kuldiep Singh’s relationship with the CM has also been an uneasy one. Kuldiep Singh’s office is in the compound of the CM’s official residence, but they are barely on talking terms.
Women officers rule the roost in DoPT
Earlier this week, as the Modi government effected a top secretary-level reshuffle at the Centre, a recent trend got solidified in the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT). Rachna Shah, a 1991 Batch IAS officer from the Kerala cadre, became the second woman in a row to be appointed the secretary of the key ministry responsible for bureaucratic appointments and transfers across the country. She took the charge from Radha S. Chauhan, an Uttar Pradesh cadre officer, who superannuated in June this year.
Meanwhile, it is yet another woman officer, Manisha Saxena, a 1996 Batch, Union Territory cadre officer, who took the crucial charge as the Establishment Officer (EO) in September this year. Saxena, too, succeeded a woman officer, Deepti Umashankar, who served as EO before she was appointed secretary to President Droupadi Murmu.
Yet another woman officer, Mallika Srinivasan, holds the position of the Chairperson of the Public Enterprise Selection Board (PESB), which is responsible for managing all appointment-related matters of top positions in public sector enterprises.
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