Overheard In Bhopal: The Model Code Of Conduct Has Yet To Come Into Force, But A Department Has Announced Its Implementation

Model Of Conduct

The model code of conduct has yet to come into force, but a department has announced its implementation. The Principal Secretary  (PS) has told the minister that the department will not do any work that may create problems. When the minister asked the PS to get some work done, the officer clearly told him that all such work would be done only after the election. His statement shocked the minister.  Despite the minister’s repeated requests, the bureaucrat shuffled off, for the higher-ups in the government are behind him. He knows that even if the minister complains against him, nothing is going to happen. He himself is staying away from work, and has told his officials not to do anything that may put them in the soup. The PS is telling those visiting his office that the model code of conduct is in force. Ergo, they should not take the trouble by requesting him to do any personal work that may put them in trouble.

Two IPS Officers Fight

A dispute between two IPS officers has intensified so much that the government is worried. One of them is honest as well as smart. This Sahib has opened a front against his colleague. There are whispers that this IPS officer has recommended an inquiry against his junior counterpart. The file containing the recommendations for inquiry has reached the government’s door, and an officer has moved it further. The IPS officer, against whom the inquiry has been recommended, is considered powerful. For that reason, the government is keeping mum over the issue.  The higher-ups in the government are mulling over the action to be taken in the case. Besides this case, the senior IPS officer is gathering information about some other disputes connected to the junior officer. Sahib wants action against this IPS officer in regard to another case. Amid the boxing match between these two officers, the government is worried about how to work out the dispute before it snowballs into a major problem.

Discord Over

An IAS couple has come to terms after a wrangle. Going to Delhi on deputation sparked a rift between them. On the one hand, madam wanted to go to Delhi, but on the other hand, Sahib longed to stay in Madhya Pradesh. The dispute has ended, however. Now, madam will soon go to Delhi and Sahib after the assembly election. The state government has sent her application to the Centre for deputation. As soon as she gets posting, she will leave for Delhi. Her husband plans to go there in December after the formation of the next government. There are discussions among the bureaucrats about the couple’s keenness to go to the Centre. Because they have become so powerful since the re-formation of the BJP government after the ouster of the 15-month-old Congress government, that people in the corridors of power natter about their plans to leave the state.

Sins Washed

An officer appointed collector in a recent administrative reshuffle seems to have been acquitted from all sins. The name of this officer came to light after an inquiry agency trapped him in a pay-off case. When a probe agency caught another officer taking a huge amount of dough, it came to light that he was collecting the carrot for the IAS officer. The IAS officer was safe because of his political clout, but he was removed after a while. When the Chief Minister removed him, there were some other reasons, too; but the complaints of his being corrupt played an equally important role in his shifting. As a central minister says, Sahib is enjoying happy days because of the present political situation in the state. It is because of Sahib’s political connections that he has been given the command of a district. His background indicates that his object of becoming a collector is to make money through underhand dealings.

Compliments In Advance

Nobody knows what will be the outcome of the assembly election, but a senior IAS officer in Delhi, confident of the Congress’s return to power in MP, has made his plans. He is assured that once the Congress forms the government, he will become the Chief Secretary. Sahib is ready to return to the state. The officer wants whether he returns to the state before the election or after it does not matter, but nothing should get into his way to becoming CS. There are reports that at a wedding ceremony when some people congratulated him as the would-be chief secretary, he accepted it. Sahib is in contact with a former chief minister. The officer not only meets the former CM in Delhi  but also gives him feedback on the situation in the state. A close relative of the officer is also lobbying for him.

Private Toll Tax!

A minister of the state has stooped so low, that he is ready to do anything to make money. His ministry is not so important that he can make money from there. Nor is he so influential a politician that he can get some big projects.  The district under his charge is also not so important, that he may get some sweetener from there. He has become a minister with the blessings of a powerful politician. Now, he is ready to do anything to make money. It is heard that his supporters extort Rs 200 from every sand-filled truck and from every tractor-trolley that passes by the roads in his district. His supporters shake them down throughout the day and hand over the money to the minister in the evening. This act of his supporters is much talked about in the district. This is the reason that many truckers and tractor-trolley drivers are hesitant to pass by the roads there, since they know they have to pay “private toll tax.” As far as the ensuing election goes, he is batting on a sticky wicket, and the Congress is praying to God that he should get a ticket.

Published on: Sunday, July 16, 2023, 06:57 PM IST