Are Bureaucrats Taking Over Ministries In Rajasthan?
Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator. Author of Cyber Scams in India, Digital Arrest, The Money Trap and The Human Hack
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By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2022-05-27 08:17:52
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Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator. Author of Cyber Scams in India, Digital Arrest, The Money Trap and The Human Hack
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It is strange and disturbing that many ministers in several states often complain that overbearing bureaucrats to not let them function and appropriate all powers, making them redundant. It is clear that bureaucrats are able to do this only because they are given such powers by the chief minister. Bundi MLA and Rajasthan minister for minister of sports & youth affairs (independent charge), skill (independent charge), employment & entrepreneurship (independent charge), DIPR, disaster management and relief, administrative reforms and coordination department, statistics and policy planning, Ashok Chandna, has revolted against Kuldeep Ranka, principal secretary to Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot who is allegedly not letting him work by taking over departments under him.
Chandna has tweeted asking the chief minister to "free him" from the charade ("cruel ministerial post" is what he said and make Ranka the minister as he is in any case performing all the duties expected of a minister and not letting him work. This is a serious charge as the functions of an elected minister and an appointed officer are completely different. Officers are expected to follow the orders of ministers but looking at the frustration displayed by Chandna, it is clear that the opposite is happening. An elected MLA and a minister will obviously feel that he is not needed if all decisions are taken by an officer, even if he is the principal secretary to the chief minister.
Chief Minister Gehlot needs to look into Chandna's complaint seriously. If Chandna has been given such a huge list of departments, he should be allowed to work independently. If his performance is not up to the mark, either some departments should be taken away from him and allotted to other ministers or he should be replaced. But in no case should he be subjected to humiliation by a senior officer from the chief minister's office. This is not the way things work in a democracy and if this continues, it will spell disaster for the Congress government in the state.
