A departure from public perception that chief secretary is playing the real chief minister, Bhajan Lal Sharma in a review meeting of senior IAS officers announced, Who is the boss?
A couple of days ahead of expiration of model code of conduct, he sent a strong message to bureaucracy that he means business. He asked chief secretary straight forward to let him know which officer has shown leniency in his work. He questioned directly to the district incharge secretaries as to who has not visited their respective districts.
A few months back former chief minister Ashok Gehlot had said that chief secretary Sudhansh Pant is running the government. He is the defacto chief minister. But Bhajan Lal Sharma, with his action in the review meeting has announced that he is going to be a strict administrator.
“Those officers who don't deliver, send them home. And those who have retired after getting caught in carelessness and corruption cases should be penalised. Recovery should be done from their pension,” Bhajan Lal Sharma said.
He urged officers to be sensitive enough to deal with public problems promptly.
“Officers should take cognisance of news appearing in media. If media highlights any corruption case or public issue, officers should take action and inform public through media,” he said.
The chief minister also told divisional commissioners to monitor strictly the work being done in their districts.
“If government has created this post then responsibility of monitoring rests with them also,” Bhajan Lal Sharma said.
With strong messaging, chief minister has indicated that a massive reshuffle of officers is in store after the expiration of model code of conduct. For the first time, chief minister Bhajan Lal Sharma has taken a serious review of the working of officers. This will also negate the rumours about his replacement also.
Prakash Bhandari is a veteran journalist with over 50 years of experience. He has worked with The Times of India for 30 years and contributed to leading publications as well as international news agency AFP.
