Tridib Raman
Bihar Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary’s impatience to step out of the towering shadow of his predecessor Nitish Kumar is now clearly visible. On 30 September, Samrat gave a glimpse of his grand ambitions by showing the door out of the Chief Minister’s Secretariat to Deepak Kumar, Nitish Kumar’s most favoured bureaucrat and a 1984-batch former IAS officer. The entire political circle knew Deepak Kumar as “DK Boss”, because not a leaf could move in the CMO without his orders. When Nitish first became Chief Minister in 2005 after ending the Lalu regime in Bihar, Deepak Kumar had been with him from the start. He is credited with a major role in motivating Nitish to write a new chapter of good governance and in transforming him into the “Sushasan Babu.” When Deepak Kumar retired as the state’s Chief Secretary on 31 March 2021, Nitish appointed him Principal Secretary in his Chief Minister’s Office the very next day. Even after Nitish’s departure, Deepak Kumar continued to handle Samrat Chaudhary’s CMO in the same manner during the initial phase of the new CM’s tenure. It is believed that Deepak Kumar acted as a bridge between various departments of the state government. He was still counted among Nitish’s main advisors, so he expected the new CM Samrat to always listen to his suggestions. According to sources, the dispute began over the transfer of another trusted officer of Nitish. Samrat was angry with that officer over some issue and wanted a punishment posting for him, but Deepak was not ready to agree. It is said that Deepak conveyed this matter to Nitish’s core group. Sanjay Jha then reportedly spoke to Home Minister Amit Shah about it. A few days later, BJP president Nitin Nabin telephoned CM Samrat, saying the officer should be left as he was and that no transfer would take place for the time being. This is said to have stung Samrat Chaudhary deeply. He immediately cancelled the extension of “DK Boss” and sent him out of the CMO as Vice-Chairman of the Bihar State Disaster Management Authority. Everything happened so quickly that Nitish’s people could not raise any hue and cry even if they wanted to. Allegations were also levelled against Deepak Kumar that he acted arbitrarily even in running the government and often preferred not to take the CM’s opinion on major decisions. A major allegation against this officer was that he had allegedly got a plot worth Rs 25 crore allotted to his daughter in the name of a green-field area.
How Nitish’s Navratnas were Shown the Door
Tridib Raman
Samrat Chaudhary wants to tighten his grip on the Chief Minister’s Office. He also wants to change the face and style of the CMO and give it a fresh look. He is gradually removing Nitish’s trusted officers and bringing in his own loyal officers who are relatively younger and full of new energy and enthusiasm. Nitish Kumar occupied the Chief Minister’s chair in Bihar for a long period (2005-2026), barring a few intervals. Over these two decades a core team of his close officers took shape. It was commonly known as Nitish’s “kitchen cabinet of babus.” The special feature of this kitchen cabinet was that its members understood Nitish’s mind without him having to say anything. But Samrat has managed to ground Nitish’s loyalists within just six months of his chief ministership. As soon as he became CM, Samrat’s first strike was on Anupam Kumar, a 2003-batch IAS officer and one of Nitish’s most trusted aides, who had been working as Secretary in the CMO since 2019. Anupam, a postgraduate in Physics, was sent on deputation to Delhi and is currently Joint Secretary in the Ministry of Power. His wife Pratibha Verma was also sent to Delhi. Another close aide of Nitish, 1994-batch IAS officer Anand Kishore, was made Additional Chief Secretary and sent to the Environment Ministry. He was counted among the best-performing officers. Anand had been Chairman of the Bihar School Examination Board for ten years. It was Anand who helped Nitish come out of charges such as the board-topper scam and who also showed activeness in paper-leak cases. Two other close officers of Nitish – 2005-batch Kumar Ravi and Dr Chandrashekhar Singh – were also shown the door out of the CMO in April-May. Ravi was made Health Secretary while 2010-batch IAS officer Chandrashekhar was sent to the Water Resources Department. Dr Chandrashekhar Singh is known as the officer who pioneered Nitish’s Janata Darbar, as he had built a bridge for direct dialogue between the public and the CM. 2002-batch Forest Service officer Gopal Singh had been Nitish’s OSD for years; Nitish had brought him on deputation with him, but now Gopal Singh too has been shown the way out of Bihar. Another Nitish-close officer, Vinay Kumar, who was posted as DGP, took voluntary retirement in disappointment when CM Samrat appointed him Chief Information Officer. Bihar’s current Chief Secretary Pratyaya Amrit, who was the apple of Nitish Kumar’s eye, has so far escaped CM Samrat’s wrath. But how long can the goat’s mother keep praying for safety? Pratyaya Amrit, educated at Delhi’s St Stephen’s College, is counted among the most competent officers in the country. He is a 1991-batch IAS officer and is due to retire on 31 July 2027 next year. Sources say he has requested the CM not to disturb him till his retirement.
Can Saurabh replace Pushkar?
As the elections in Uttarakhand draw closer, furrows are appearing on the brows of the saffron top brass in Delhi as well. Delhi knows that Dhami alone is not enough to cross the electoral river, because the number of his opponents within the party is also steadily rising. The people of Uttarakhand are not particularly enthusiastic about his name and leadership either. So the saffron leadership is continuously exploring alternatives to Dhami. In this series a new name has emerged – Saurabh Bahuguna. He is Minister for Skill Development and Employment in the Dhami government. He is only 47 years old. His father Vijay Bahuguna has been Chief Minister of the state. He was once counted among Dhami’s most trusted colleagues. It is said that even PM Modi likes him. But as soon as Saurabh’s name began to flash in political circles as Dhami’s successor, Dhami is said to have rushed to Delhi and handed over a fully prepared dossier against Saurabh to the high command. Earlier, Dhami had assigned Saurabh an important responsibility from his side: every minister in his government had to submit a detailed report of projects worth more than Rs 5 crore to Saurabh, and Saurabh would prepare a brief of these project reports and keep the CM informed. Saurabh’s front man is known to be his brother Saket Bahuguna, who is also a director in the big investment company India Bulls. When their father Vijay Bahuguna was CM of the state, some allegations of financial irregularities had also been levelled against Saket. Perhaps Dhami was informing Delhi about this very matter. Besides this, the BJP is also trying to woo former Congress Chief Minister Harish Rawat. Rawat has a reasonable influence among the state’s voters, but due to some family problems and his advancing age his political activity has been somewhat reduced these days.
What is Baba’s intention?
Baba Ramdev is skilled at reading the colours of changing political weather. That is why a sharp shift in Baba’s attitude towards the central government can be felt for some time now. There must have been some reason that led Baba to praise the Gen Z movement. According to sources, Baba has been deeply troubled for some time by the fact that the same well-known industrialist of the country has cast a crooked eye on his Patanjali. Riding on the strength of Delhi, this industrialist has in the past used the government and investigating agencies as weapons to seize control of several well-established businesses. Baba fears that this industrialist wants to gobble up his company at a throwaway price. In fact, Baba’s feud with this industrialist goes back to the days of Ruchi Soya. Both the industrialist and Baba wanted to take over this company that was heading towards bankruptcy. After a long court battle, however, Baba prevailed and the Ruchi Soya company became his. The story of Patanjali’s rise also begins from here. Ruchi Soya itself was later listed on the stock market under the name of Patanjali, and Patanjali’s shares gradually started touching the sky. About 6.5 per cent shares in Baba’s Patanjali were also held by the American company of a non-resident Indian. So Baba’s rival industrialist took the help of this non-resident Indian trader, and this company began selling Patanjali shares in the market. Within a few days, the Patanjali share that used to trade above one thousand rupees crashed to around three hundred and fifty. It is said that this industrialist is now filling his pockets with both hands by buying Patanjali shares from the market so that pressure can be put on Baba. This injustice being done to him has forced Baba to sound the bugle of rebellion.
Tukaram Now After Dubious Health Foods
After targeting fake paneer, adulterated milk and poor cleanliness in restaurants, Maharashtra FDA Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe has now fixed his gaze on the mushrooming business of nutraceuticals, that is health supplement foods and related medicines. His department is soon going to issue an order in this regard. Mundhe believes that the customers of such health foods are mostly young people who usually consume these health supplements without any doctor’s advice. Generally, the ingredients that companies claim are present in such products are nowhere to be found in the test reports. Mundhe has described the investigation reports on nutraceuticals so far as worrying. According to a study, the dietary supplement market in India is currently around Rs 20,000 crore and is estimated to reach Rs 57,300 crore by 2034 as it is leaping ahead at the rate of 12 percent every year. Mundhe’s department has inspected 1,131 places in the last few days and seized goods worth more than Rs 50 crore. Mundhe has also cracked the whip on the gutkha network and has registered cases against several gutkha companies under the Maharashtra Control of Organised Crime Act (MCOCA). Interestingly, most Mumbaikars were unaware till five months ago about where exactly the FDA office is located in their city. The FDA office on the ground floor of Bandra Kurla Complex, which used to remain deserted a few months ago, is now being thronged by common people carrying piles of complaints. More than a thousand complaints about adulterated food are being received every day. Public trust in Tukaram has perhaps increased because he has not spared even the rich households. Along with tightening the noose on ordinary traders, he has taken action with the same approach and equal justice against Aditya Birla Hospitality, the 110-year-old Parsi dairy, Noor Mohammadi, Shalimar and all others.
Akhilesh Eyes BJP Rebels, Ties Up with AAP
Uttar Pradesh’s political turmoil is taking new turns every day. Samajwadi Party chief Akhilesh Yadav wants to take advantage of the BJP’s internal conflicts in this assembly election. That is why, ignoring the advice of his party’s senior leaders this time, he has given one of his party’s Rajya Sabha seats to Dhanraj Nathwani, son of Parimal Nathwani who is linked to the Reliance group. Even Akhilesh’s close advisors wanted this second seat to go to a PDA candidate, especially a Muslim candidate. Akhilesh has now started arranging for cross-voting by BJP MLAs. His eyes are fixed on those rebel BJP MLAs who already know full well that the party will not give them tickets this time. While the tangle over seat-sharing with Congress still remains unresolved, Akhilesh has simultaneously kept the talks going with the Aam Aadmi Party for an understanding. Sources say AAP leader Sanjay Singh is in constant contact with Akhilesh. Earlier, AAP’s demand was for 8 to 10 assembly seats, but now a middle formula has been worked out. In this, the SP chief has agreed with Sanjay Singh that in this election AAP will support the SP from behind the scenes, and in return the SP will field two to three of AAP’s strong candidates on the cycle election symbol.