Madhya Pradesh | The powerful battle the 'permanents'
Why are MP's bureaucrats increasingly raising their voice against Neta toughies?
The ruler and the ruled often have a grouse with each other. In the past couple of weeks, in Madhya Pradesh, it’s been one section of rulers against the other. Call it The Powerful versus The Permanents—or the politicians currently in power and the bureaucrat lobby that is perennially incumbent. There are systemic reasons for why their uneasy compact gets periodically frayed along the edges, but for the bureaucrats at least, it’s mostly risky to air these. So, the mutual pique gets vented in seemingly trivial conflicts: personal matters with no larger cause involved.
The ruler and the ruled often have a grouse with each other. In the past couple of weeks, in Madhya Pradesh, it’s been one section of rulers against the other. Call it The Powerful versus The Permanents—or the politicians currently in power and the bureaucrat lobby that is perennially incumbent. There are systemic reasons for why their uneasy compact gets periodically frayed along the edges, but for the bureaucrats at least, it’s mostly risky to air these. So, the mutual pique gets vented in seemingly trivial conflicts: personal matters with no larger cause involved.
Judge by the outbreak of the present war. The first salvo was reported in Shivpuri two weeks ago where Pichore BJP MLA Pritam Lodhi was seen threatening Karera Sub-Divisional Police Officer (SDOP) Ayush Jakhar in a video. With what exactly? That he would get 10,000 supporters to surround the IPS officer’s bungalow and “fill it with cow dung”.
Lodhi was upset with Jakhar because he summoned his son to the police station in connection with a collision case. The entitled son was accused of driving around in a Thar with blackened windows and no registration plates—just a plaque mentioning his father as the local MLA, and a siren to boot. Five injuries were reported, and Jakhar had given no leeway to the VIP son. The IPS Association condemned the MLA’s remarks, and to cool the air, Lodhi was summoned by the CM and state BJP chief for a reprimand.
FIR AGAINST MANTRI KIN
Then, on April 22, a provincial service officer, Priya Kag, the CEO of a block panchayat in Alirajpur district, was threatened by Inder Singh Chouhan, the brother of state minister Nagar Singh Chouhan. An FIR was filed against Inder Singh after he was seen attempting to assault the CEO outside her office. She was accorded police protection, but did not have the heft of a powerful association to stand behind her.
On April 27, IAS officer Arvind Shah, an additional commissioner in the Jabalpur Municipal Corporation, accused state PWD minister Rakesh Singh of having insulted and abused him. The minister was apparently upset after Shah took an employee to task for dereliction of duty. Former state BJP chief Rakesh Singh, who was Jabalpur MP multiple times, had another story: that Shah had made derogatory remarks about the minister. Shah initially got the backing of his clan—the all-powerful IAS Association—but with a political heavyweight in the mix, and perhaps some internal investigations, it chose to back off.
Madhya Pradesh has had a long tradition of the political class and the bureaucrats usually working together, with very few instances of conflict. So, why are ruling party politicians and officials losing their cool so often this time? Some say the politicians are miffed because the bureaucracy does not recognise their genuine and kosher work. Others just blame it on the scorching summer heat. This time, it seems, it is adding to frayed tempers as well.
