New Delhi

May 15, 2004

SONIA PREPARES FOR MAJOR RESHUFFLE OF BUREAUCRACY

A major bureaucratic reshuffle has been planned by a core group set up in 10 Janpath to help Sonia Gandhi with a personnel policy of the new government.

The core group is understood to have worked out a 3-tier strategy to be put into operation from the first week of June, envisaging removal of around 18 officials holding key positions as they are suspects to be pro-BJP and confidants of the outgoing Union Ministers.

Transfers and postings of the bureaucrats are essential to ensure that "interal notings, discussions and the trend of implementation of the Congress policies are not be leaked out," says one of the backroom boys
constituting the core group.

Two names have also been suggested by the core group for the post of the National Security Advisor that is presently occupied by Brajesh Mishra, the Principal Secretary to the Prime Minister. They are: former Foreign Secretary J N Dixit and former foreign minister of state Natwar Singh. Sources indicated that Sonia Gandhi may prefer Dixit for the post as she may like to utilise services of Natwar Singh in the political set-up.

The Home Ministry, Intelligence Bureau, Central Bureau of Investigation, the Finance Ministry and the Defence Ministry have been identified as packed with the bureaucrats having good rapport with the ministers in the NDA government. These bureucrats would be shifted as quickly as possible
as "it is high time that seniors are replaced with the officials of our own confidence," a core group member said.

Among those to be thrown out will be Union Cabinet Secretary Kamal Pande, a confidant of outgoing Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani and while three other Advani confidants to be shown the door are Intelligence Bureau
Chief Kunal Pal Singh, Home Secretary Anil Baijal and Defence Secretary Ajay Prasad in that order.

There will be a total reshuffle of the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and that may start within a week of Sonia Gandhi taking the reins. K P Singh has five months to retire but he may be shunted out and his likely successor is E S Lakshmi Narasimhan, a low profile and non-controversial Special
Director in the bureau.

Ajit Doval, a Kerala IPS officer, had emerged as No 2 in IB because of his closeness to Advani and he was tipped to be the new IB chief but he may be shunted out of the bureau. He has one more year to retire.

Also definite to be axed is Special Director D C Padhi who embarrassed the Congress by exposing then Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Ajit Jogi in the forgery of fabricating a false IB document on disproportionate wealth of the senior Congress leaders. The CBI had filed a case against Jogi for fabricating the document to claim that Advani had ordered the report on assets of the Congress chief ministers. Both Padhi and Ajit Jogi belonged to the 1968 batch of IPS cadre. Padhi has 30 months to retire.

Anil Baijal was given an out-of-turn promotion and appointed the Home Secretary, reportedly at Health Minister Sushma Swaraj impressing upon Advani that he could be politically useful. The file of M Shankar for appointment as the Home Secretary was withdrawn from the PMO at the last
minute and a new proposal was sent with Advani's approval to give the post
to Baijal.

Defence Secretary Prasad has been identified as a pro-NDA official because of the way he had moved swiftly to remove the tag of corruption slapped on Defence Minister George Fernandes in the Tehelka Tapes in his earlier capacity as the Secretary, Defence Production. He subsequently moved to
Advani's office as the Secretary to the Deputy PM. When the Defence Secretary's post was to be filled, the first choice of Fernandes was Prasad and Advani readily relieved him in no time to assume the new responsibility.

A new Finance Secretary and a new Revenue Secretary are expected to be chosen by early June to facilitate the new government to prepare the Union Budget for presentation in the monsoon session in July. A vote-on-account for carrying on the government business is to be presented when the new Lok Sabha meets this month-end and then begins the exercise of the budget to fulfil the promises given by Congress and other allies to the commonman.

Some other changes may be put on hold for two, three months to effect them in July and August when eight secretaries are due for retirement. Among the ministries identified for the changes by Sonia Gandhi's core group are
Agriculture, Commerce and Information and Broadcasting.