Even as Haryana chief secretary Sanjeev Kaushal goes on a long leave, former IAS Rajesh Khullar, who was made chief principal secretary to chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar will continue to serve in the same capacity even after Nayab Singh Saini taking over from Khattar.
The entire chief minister office has been kept intact and has no impact of the change of guard.
In two separate orders, the Haryana government has clarified that Khullar will continue to work as chief principal secretary to chief minister while other officer in CMO – V Umashankar, principal secretary to chief minister, Amit Kumar Agrawal, additional principal secretary to chief minister and Ashima Brar, additional principal secretary to chief minister will continue to work for Nayab Singh Saini also.
Apart from that officers of Haryana state services – Virat, OSD to principal secretary to CM, Sudhanshu Gautam, OSD to CM and Heena Bindlish will continue to work as OSD to chief principal secretary to CM.
Rajesh Khullar came from centre to join Khattar post retirement
The appointment of Khullar as the chief principal secretary to chief minister Manohar Lal Khattar comes a day after his superannuation as additional chief secretary disaster management on September 2023.
Khullar, a 1988 batch IAS, had a stint in the World Bank as executive director in September 2020 for three years. Prior to this international assignment, he was principal secretary (to CM) for five years.
Khullar to enjoy the same power
Rajesh Khullar is enjoying the power and has been calling the shot in Haryana government. The order has reinforced that Khullar will continue to have a strong hold on Haryana bureaucracy. The state goes for polls in October this year. In that case the new chief minister Nayab Singh Saini, who is considered close to Khattar, is unlikely to change the system.
The BuckStopper, run by a group of seasoned journalists, holds the powerful accountable. The buck stops with them, as they cannot shrug off their official responsibilities.
