New Delhi: That TMC-ruled West Bengal does not send its IAS and IPS officers on central deputation due to the hostility between Kolkata and New Delhi is well-known. But officers from BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh are increasingly facing a similar problem.
Earlier this month, 2004-batch IAS officer Anamika Singh took voluntary retirement from service after being denied a no-objection certificate for central government deputation. However, several officers in the state say that Singh’s is not the only such case.
Frustration seems to be mounting among officers as the Yogi Adityanath-led Uttar Pradesh government refuses to relieve officers for deputations. “We are usually told that this is because there are vacancies in the state government, but we all know there are political reasons,” said one IPS officer. “It is ironic that along with West Bengal, it is UP that is refusing to send officers to the Centre.”
The trend has become a cause for concern among officers who believe that their careers would be adversely impacted due to this. “Our batchmates from other cadres are occupying important posts in the Centre, and we are just not getting any NOCs. This was never the case before,” an IAS officer from the state said.
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MP CM Mohan Yadav gets Amit Shah’s endorsement
Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav—who has been under siege from within, with many veteran leaders eyeing his chair—could not have asked for more.
Earlier this week, at the Abhyuday Madhya Pradesh Growth Summit organised at Gwalior on the 101st birth anniversary of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Union Home Minister Amit Shah praised Yadav. “Mohan Yadav is working to develop the state with even more energy than (multi-term former CM) Shivraj Singh Chouhan.”
While Shah’s remark about Chouhan, now a Union minister, “raised eyebrows” and was received with much “curiosity” by party leaders, they interpreted the home minister’s praise for Chouhan’s successor as a signal to Yadav’s detractors and rivals in the party.
In his address, however, Shah did credit Chouhan for lifting the state out of the “BIMARU” category. Party insiders say the message from the Centre was clear—that Chouhan’s shift to national politics is now complete and Yadav has full control over state affairs.
Ex-IPS officer loses Thiruvananthapuram mayor race
In the run-up to the recently concluded Kerala local body polls, all eyes were on the state capital, Thiruvananthapuram, due to the close triangular contest between the CPI(M)-led ruling Left Democratic Front (LDF), Congress-led United Democratic Front, and BJP-led NDA. Other seats mostly saw bipolar contests.
At the prestigious seat of Thiruvananthapuram, all these formations fielded star candidates, including former MLAs and civil servants. The BJP fielded Kerala’s first woman IPS officer, and also the state’s first woman DGP, R. Sreelekha.
There were speculations that the former DGP would be the party’s mayoral candidate. However, after much suspense, the BJP decided to go with long-term party worker V.V. Rajesh, making him the party’s first mayor in the city.
According to party insiders, the decision was taken after many senior party leaders and RSS functionaries supported Rajesh due to his long experience in the party.
Sreelekha, on the other hand, joined the party after her retirement in 2024.
A section of leaders also wanted to balance the ‘gender equation’ in the capital by selecting a male mayor, as the deputy mayoral post was reserved for women. Thiruvananthapuram’s previous mayor was also a woman.
Sreelekha, say party functionaries, turned down the offer to become the deputy mayor. Grapevine also has it that she may be fielded in the Assembly polls early next year.
(Edited by Ajeet Tiwari)
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