Dilli Ka Babu: ‘Prime’ regulator?

The Bharatiya Janata Party government continues to spring surprises on Dilli’s veteran babu-watchers. Narendra Modi has brought in yet another of his close associates to the Prime Minister’s Office. In the process he has also created a first ever post of additional principal secretary. A retired 1972-batch Gujarat cadre Indian Administrative Service officer, P.K. Mishra, now joins Nripendra Mishra who was earlier appointed principal secretary of the Prime Minister.

An abundance of Mishras in PMO occupying uniquely influential positions has set off murmurs on how Mr Modi will allocate work to the two aides. Interestingly, besides directly reporting to Mr Modi, the two Mishras share one common feature — both are former regulators. While Mr Nripendra Mishra is a former head of the Telecom Regulatory Authority of India, Mr P.K. Mishra, among other assignments including stints as agriculture secretary and principal secretary to Mr Modi in Ahmedabad, was chairman of Gujarat Electricity Regulatory Commission.

The “regulatory” past of the two babus seems to suggest that the Prime Minister’s governance style will be babu-driven and “regulatory” rather than neta-driven. And the Mishras will be at the helm of this element of Prime Minister Modi’s governance agenda.

Setting it right

After a humiliating loss in the Lok Sabha elections and public anger over the deteriorating law and order situation in the state, especially after the Badaun rape case, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and the Samajwadi Party are on the defensive.

Expectedly, in a belated attempt to set things right, the chief minister has effected (yet again!) a massive bureaucratic reshuffle affecting over 100 Indian Administrative Service and Indian Police Service officers. Sources say that as many as 66 IAS officers, including principal secretaries and district magistrates, and 42 IPS officers, including IGs, DIGs and district police chiefs, have been transferred.

But this was preceded by (and reported in this column) by naming trusted aide Alok Ranjan as chief secretary replacing veteran hand Jawed Usmani. Among the other early transfers in this current “cleansing phase” were those of home secretary A.K. Gupta and principal finance secretary Anand Mishra.

Mr Yadav also reportedly held several rounds of meetings with top bureaucrats to discuss the state of affairs in Uttar Pradesh. The current mass transfers are meant to convey to the babus that the Akhilesh Yadav government means business! Whether these transfers lead to an improvement in the situation remains to be seen.