R Krishna Das
Internal rumblings in the Jammu and Kashmir administration headed by a Chhattisgarh-cadre officer had resulted in the change of guard.
Manoj Sinha, the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology (IIT)-Banaras Hindu University alumnus, has taken over as the new Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir. The 61-year-old dhoti-clad former union minister is no lightweight to be bogged down by the manipulative and coercive strategies of the civil servants.
There was a dire need to put the administrative work in motion without trivial hindrances arising out of personal arrogance of a few bureaucrats in the valley state. BVR Subramanyam, the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer of Chhattisgarh cadre, who was appointed as the chief secretary of the state in June 2018 with the imposition of President’s rule, has been at the helm of the affairs.
Simmering differences between Subrahmanyam and other officials of the Jammu and Kashmir administration had been spilling out in open in the past two years. His relationship with former governor Satya Pal Malik was deemed to be fractious, causing friction in the administrative mechanism.
Following the disparities in the approach towards functioning of the government, Malik was subsequently replaced by Girish Chandra Murmu in October last year. Unlike Malik, Murmu maintained a low profile and is known to be a tenacious and diligent officer. But differences emerged between him and Subrahmanyam also. The latest was on the issue of Amarnath Yatra.
In June, a senior IAS officer went on a protest leave as one of his senior officers allegedly used abusive language against him. Within a fortnight, he was appointed as the Secretary General, Administration Department allegedly on the intervention from Murmu’s office. The situation in the Union Territory seemed to be developing towards the classic case of discord between government officials who had similar backings from the top echelons.
The Kashmiri Pandit Sangharsh Samiti (KPSS) is demanding about 500 government appointments in accordance with a 2019 High Court order. They have been angered by delays caused due to the laxity of bureaucracy.
Bureaucrats need political leadership to be answerable to, and they appear to be assuming an exaggerated sense of entitlement in Jammu and Kashmir. The work to be done in the region is still in progress, and it cannot afford to be derailed due to petty infighting.
Manoj Sinha’s appointment is a strong policy statement. His background in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and proximity with the Prime Minister make him truly the first political emissary of the Centre in the trouble-torn Valley.
And he had indicated that he meant only business from the bureaucrats. When a few senior babus turned up with big bouquet on his arrival, Sinha refused it with folded hands.
