Straight talk by Deben Patel
Not just BJD, even BJP is in the grip of Baburaj
After Jaysanker, Vaishnav, Puri, Pramod Mishra, now Shaktikanta
Once Baburaj was heavily criticized in the BJD ruled Odisha government. The opposition was discussing it. They were opposing it in various forums. The big thing is that the current ruling party BJP was playing a major role against this. During the first phase of the 24-years of BJD Government, there was strong grip of baburaj by Pyarimohan Mahapatra and later to V. K Pandyian. Pandian's work was even linked to Odia Ashmita (a key issue in forming the BJP government in Odisha). But let us know that BJP's Modi government was never outside the Baburaj regime. Relying on administrators is nothing new in the government system. The Modi government, which has been ruling the center for the last three terms, has relied on bureaucrats since its inception.
Former Reserve Bank of India Governor Shaktikanta Das has been appointed as Prime Minister Narendra Modi's second principal secretary on Saturday. Das, a retired officer of the Tamil Nadu cadre, will continue his tenure till the tenure of Prime Minister Modi or until further orders. Pramod Kumar Mishra, a retired IAS officer of Gujarat cadre, is currently serving as Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister. In such a situation Mr. Das has been given this responsibility along with him. From S. Jayashankar, Hardeep Puri, Ashwini Vaishnav to Shaktikanta Das, these ex-bureaucrats are playing important roles in the Modi government.
A distinct trend has been observed in Modi's political style and administrative strategy. That was total trust and dependence on ex-bureaucrats (IAS, IFS, IRS, IPS). Former 'Babus' like Foreign minister S. Jaishanker, Railway and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnab, Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, former RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das have played and are playing important roles in the Modi government. Of course, the good influence of Odia in the center of power will be said. Former Gujarat cadre and Sambalpur resident P. K. Mishra, another orthodox chief secretary has been appointed. Similarly, Ashwini Vaishnav, though not an Orthodox, has moved from the Odisha Rajya Sabha quota and has become a minister in the Modi government at the Centre. On the occasion of working in Odisha, Vaishnav has a strong weakness for Odisha.
Now to know why government parties depend on these administrative officers. The first was the administrative skills and experience of the bureaucrats. During their service, IAS, IFS, IRS, IPS officers have a deep understanding of administrative functions, policy implementation and decision making within the government. Prime Minister Modi's working style is such that he prioritizes quick and effective implementation of policies. In such a situation, when an ex-bureaucrat gets a ministerial or higher position in the government, it does not take him much time to understand the complexities of the administration. Similarly, bureaucrats have years of experience working in various ministries. So they take a more systematic and practical approach. Be it Digital India or schemes like Aadhaar or UPI, these technocrats and ex-bureaucrats play a vital role in their smooth implementation.
With the Modi government's focus on speedy decision-making and promoting innovation, administrators have successfully managed this. Similarly, in the case of bureaucrats, it has been observed that they take decisions in a more technocratic manner. In this context, the Modi government's strategy of hiring retired administrators has been largely successful. The performance of this ex-bureaucrat has been impressive in every field like foreign policy, financial policy, defense deals, infrastructure development. Shaktikanta Das, Principal Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, was earlier made the RBI Governor. He had a great responsibility to implement the fiscal policies of the government in a proper manner. He has proven himself during decisions like Notebandi and GST.
If we talk about S Jaishankar, he has been a senior officer in the Foreign Service (IFS) and has a deep understanding of India's diplomacy. In terms of foreign policy, Jaishankar took the 'aggressive' and 'nationalist' attitude of the Modi government forward. Hardeep Singh Puri's name also comes in this list. A 1974-batch Indian Foreign Service officer, Puri served as India's Permanent Representative to the United Nations from 2009 to 2013. Puri joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in January 2014 and became an MP in the Rajya Sabha from Uttar Pradesh in November 2020. In 2019, he was made the Minister of State for Civil Aviation (Independent Charge) in addition to Home and Urban Affairs. Modi government is shifting the charge of Ministry of Petroleum and Natural Gas in 3.0. After IAS officer Ashwini Vaishnab was given the charge of Railways and IT Ministry, she took forward projects like 'Bande Bharat' and also took major policy initiatives under Digital India.
Chanakya states that a learned enemy is better than a foolish friend. So Modi's policy cannot be said to be wrong in any way. However, it is commendable how the BJP made Odiyas fooled by talking about Baburaj by BJD in Odisha.
Have a good day. Namaskar 🙏
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