Mayawati's bureaucrats refrained from speaking their minds; some piloted fast rise

Bee Smart: Bureaucrats to Speak Up

EARLY 2010, police in Uttar Pradesh had to undertake one of the most bizarre investigations ever. State chief minister Ms Mayawati was furious and wanted cops to find out how and why a swarm of bees hovered around her during a rally in Lucknow on March 15, 2010. The investigation report prepared by a DIG level officer said 1.5 lakh bees disturbed the chief minister during her birthday rally. That was not all. The report showered lavish praise for Mayawati’s “calm and composure” during the bee attack! It was the same controversial rally when a garland made out of Rs 1000 notes (with a value of around Rs 5 crore) was presented to Mayawati. When it came to her bureaucrats, Mayawati was a street smart. She valued those bureaucrats who she thought were critical to her administration and punished those who she believed were inefficient and not loyal to her. But that probably turned suicidal to her politically.
For example, Shashank Shekhar Singh, a former pilot held a unique post called cabinet secretary and enjoyed the rank of a cabinet minister. Singh has been Ms Mayawati’s favourite bureaucrat from day one of her coming back to power in 2007. According to a state order, cabinet secretary would enjoy the same power as chief secretary who is invariably an IAS officer. But in Lucknow corridors, you don’t need to muster rocket science to understand Singh’s clout vis-à-vis that of chief secretary. The issue of creating an all-powerful cabinet secretary’s post in the state undermining the established role of a chief secretary even cropped up to Supreme Court.
Mayawati also tried to change the political rule book of praising babus in public rallies, a highly unconventional practice. Two IAS officers, 1984 batch Durga Shanker Mishra and 1988 batch Navneet Sehgal, were showered praise at a public rally in Lucknow in mid-December last year. Mishra, a B Tech engineer and MBA before joining as IAS, was a joint secretary in home ministry during early days of UPA-I. Sehgal, both a chartered account and company secretary besides being an IAS, was praised for his attempts to make UP getting enough power by 2014.
But not all IAS officers were as lucky as Mishra and Sehgal. Senior IAS of 1976 batch Promilla Shanker, who was suspended and then reinstated, is a case in hand. She alleged Mayawati government of unleashing “a reign of terror and fear in the administration and officers who speak their mind” and wanted the Centre to “protect the morale” of all-India services officers.

Apex Court questions appointment of pilot Shashank Shekhar as UP cabinet secretary

THE Supreme Court’s questioning of the appointment of a non-IAS, Shashank Shekhar Singh, as cabinet secretary of Uttar Pradesh will make IAS officers across the country happy and cheerful. The Apex Court, hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) challenging Singh’s appointment, said there have to be rules and regulations for such key postings.

A close confidante of UP chief minister Mayawati and former pilot who had flown a number of CMs including VP Singh and ND Tiwari, Shashank Shekhar Singh holds a unique post called cabinet secretary and enjoys the rank of a cabinet minister. Singh was appointed in the coveted post soon after Mayawati came into power almost five years ago. Though the state government in an order placed the post of the cabinet secretary at par with the state chief secretary who is always an IAS officer, cabinet secretary Singh in all practical purposes wields more power than the state chief secretary. Singh was to retire in May 2010, but Mayawati gave him a two-year extension.

Shashank Shekhar Singh, however, is not a new player in Lucknow’s corridors of power. In 1979, he became a state pilot but was soon promoted as director of state civil aviation. Later, he moved up the ladder to become principal secretary to CM for several CMs. According to the insiders in Mayawati government, Singh virtually runs the state government and the chief secretary is a mere subordinate in all practical purposes.

After the PIL was taken up by the Apex Court, the department of personnel and training (DoPT) which is the cadre-controlling authority of the IAS, said in an affidavit on Monday that the appointment “undermined” the established system and “demoralized” the IAS officers of the state. A bench hearing the case said people like Sam Pitroda, who are an expert in the technical field, are appointed as adviser but for posts like that of cabinet secretary, there have to be proper procedures.

The case turned out to be a high-profile one as the PIL petitioners, Harish Chandra Pandey and Amrendra Nath Tripathi, were represented by noted advocate and Congress leader Abhishek Manu Singhvi. Gopal Subramanium, who quit the post of Solicitor General of India rather unceremoniously a few months ago, represented Shashank Shekhar Singh. 
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Maya Once More: UP CM spells out stricter missive to senior officials

SPIRITED by the recent success in Uttar Pradesh bye-polls, chief minister Mayawati has made it clear once more that she wanted senior officials of the state to be more responsible in delivery of welfare measures and law and order mechanism. But that comes with a strict warning --- seniors officers would be held responsible if their juniors fail to come up to the mark. UP chief minister called senior officials of the state to her residence on Saturday and gave a piece of her mind amid tea and biscuits. Among those who were present during the interaction were cabinet secretary Shashank Shekhar Singh, additional cabinet secretary Vijay Shankar Pandey, principal secretary (home) Kunwar Fateh Bahadur, DGP Vikram Singh, ADGs (law and order) Brij Lal and AK Jain and ADG (Intelligence) to name a few. Ms Mayawati also asked the officials make necessary arrangements in view of coming festivals of Ramzan, Ganesh Chaturthi, Haritalika Teej etc. UP chief minister is known for being very strict with officials, and she does not hesitate to randomly pick up transfer as a tool to punish them. Read the post “Maths, Stats & Maya” dated June 10. Also read, “All about Maya: IAS, IPS face transfers in UP” posted on May 25, 2009.