Inside Raisina Hill: Weekly Wrap From The Power Corridor-VI

As one walks down the Hill along the Rajpath, now renamed Kartavya Path, come other edifices — Rail Bhavan, Krishi Bhavan, and Shashtri Bhavan on one side and Sena Bhavan, Udyog Bhavan, and Vanijya Bhavan on the other. The bureaucrats who adorn the offices in these buildings decide on India's economic, social, and industrial policies. There are many tales to be told from the corridors of these grandiose buildings. We let you in on some of them here in this week's edition of "Inside Raisina Hill".

Leader Of Opposition To Be In Panel To Select Next CBI Chief 

The incumbent Director of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), Praveen Sood, will be retiring at the end of next month. His impending exit has started a quiet churn within the corridors of power in Raisina Hill, with many throwing their hat into the selection ring.

However, there is also a wave of interest in opposition, especially in the Congress Party. Why is that so? This time round, Rahul Gandhi will officially be part of the selection process, sitting in on the selection panel as the Leader of the Opposition.

Appointment to the top job in the CBI has many times been subjected to various controversies. Many past governments have had to contend with accusations of political bias while choosing the head of the sleuth agency.

However, the central government this time is extremely cautious. There’s a subtle urgency, not exactly panic, but a calculated effort to appoint someone trusted and reliable.

The selection committee consists of the Prime Minister, the Chief Justice of India, and the Leader of the Opposition. On paper, that inclusion of Rahul Gandhi should give him a say in one of the most significant appointments. At least, he can make his voice heard in the process.

Several senior IPS officers are in contention. Sanjay Arora, the current Commissioner of Police, Delhi, and a seasoned officer with a strong administrative track record, is one. Praveer Ranjan, Additional Director General in CISF and known for his calm handling of sensitive cases, is another. The name of Satish Golcha, Director General of Tihar Jail, is also doing the rounds.

The frontrunner at this stage, however, seems to be Rajendra Bhatti, DG of CISF. Bhatti is not new to the investigative agency. He served the CBI before, and is known to be competent and politically well-networked. Bhatti comes from the Bihar cadre, and is perceived to be close to the Bihar state regime as well as the central government.

With Bihar heading into elections, grapevines are abuzz with the emergence of Bhatti as a “strategic” candidate. He is an officer who can help the government maintain a firm grip during a politically sensitive time.

Another name being talked about is that of G P Singh, DG of CRPF. However, there are also many who discount that possibility as the government may not wish to disturb a top central police force, which is playing a crucial role in many places.

PESB To Interview Candidates For 2 Board Members In CSL

The Public Enterprises Selection Board (PESB) is likely to set up interview panels for two board-level positions in Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL).

Sources revealed that 11 candidates have been shortlisted, and the candidates will be interviewed simultaneously for the positions of Director (Technical) and Director (Operations).

These two positions became vacant, as current directors — Bejoy Bhaskar and Sreejith Narayanan — will retire from their respective posts on May 31, 2025.

Reliable sources in the PESB say that combined interviews of the shortlisted candidates are likely to take place on or before April 12, 2025, and recommendations for both posts could be made simultaneously.

The sources indicated that the list of shortlisted candidates include Rajesh Gopalakrishnan, Executive Director (Ship Repair), Harikrishnan S, Executive Director (Ship Building), Eldho John, the Chief General Manager (Technical), Shiraz Villantekathu Puthiyapurayil, the Chief General Manager (Planning, Project Management & Strategy), Deepu Surendran, the Chief General Manager (C-SAS), Anjana K R, the Chief General Manager (Design), Sivakumar Ayyaru, the General Manager (Ship Repair), Jayan K Thampi, the General Manager (Outfitting & Outsourcing), Sivaram Narayana Swamy, the General Manager (Business Development), Santhosh Philip, the General Manager (Ship Repair) and Mahesh Kumar Balaraman, the General Manager (DY CVO) of the Shipping Corporation of India Limited.

Many in the system appreciate this innovative framework created by the PESB led by Mallika Srinivasan. The experience, skill sets and job description for the positions of Director (Operations) and Director (Technical) are synergetic.

So, the simultaneous interview process may make the selection process easier, efficient, and time-saving.

Meanwhile, according to reports, the Ministry of Ports, Shipping, and Waterways has been actively involved in the selection process to ensure alignment with CSL’s strategic objectives.

Industry experts, on the other hand, note that these leadership appointments are expected to play a crucial role in CSL’s future technological advancements, shipbuilding projects, and overall competitiveness in the global maritime sector.

DANICS & DASS Cadre Officers Fight Over Promotion Posts

The inter-cadre tussle between Delhi Administrative Subordinate Services (DASS) and DANICS (Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Island Civil Services) officers is now out in the open.

It has escalated further with the new government formation in the national capital territory (NCT).

Taking the issue of 217 posts that have already been created for promoted DASS personnel to Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan, the subordinate service officers’ association has written to him, requesting an appointment to present their case before him for his intervention.

In the letter, the DASS association said that in 2023, the Delhi High Court allowed the creation of 217 posts for promoted DASS officers.

“DANICS officers immediately moved to the Central Administrative Tribunal against the HC order, saying the posts were created for them. Revision of DASS cadres is scheduled for every five years. But they claim that the review has not been done for the past five decades,” it said.

In the Delhi administration, the hierarchy of AGMUT (Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Mizoram, and Union Territories) cadre IAS officers comes after the DANICS, and then comes the DASS personnel.

However, the DASS cadre personnel are considered the backbone of the administrative structure since it was formed in the year 1967.

A delegation of DASS cadre officers also met with Chief Minister Rekha Gupta with their demand. A source said, “The delegation informed the CM about the stagnation of DASS personnel for more than 55 years, and said the system needs urgent reforms.”

“Due to the continued stagnation and lack of career progression, nearly 100 officers voluntarily retire every year. Grade-I DASS officers have not seen any restructuring since its inception in 1967. This stagnation is a clear violation of the guidelines set by the Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) and the Cabinet Secretary’s orders, which mandate a review of every organised cadre every five years,” added the source.

In their representation, the subordinate service association alleged that the DANICS association, led by a few officers, continues to obstruct the cadre restructuring of DASS since the creation of these posts, citing “false and frivolous” facts.

Obstructions were created first in the notification of Service Rules, and now the same is been done for filling up these posts.

The rivalry in the state now having reached the Centre, the outcome will be keenly observed.

Punjab Government Considering Replacement Of Current DGP 

Traditionally, Punjab has been a state where law and order issues are always in the news. The citizenry is sensitive to any breach that would affect their daily lives.

The incumbent government, therefore, has an obligation to address issues related to maintaining peace in the state. After losing Delhi, Punjab is the only state governed by the current ruling party.

The grapevine has it that Arvind Kejriwal, a former Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer himself, is taking keen interest in Punjab affairs.

The net result: The state government is contemplating changing the Director General of Police (DGP) in view of the deteriorating law and order situation and the drug menace hitting the headlines again.   

Incumbent Punjab DGP Gaurav Yadav, a 1992-batch IPS officer, has been holding the post of Punjab DGP for the past three years.

According to the sources, amid perceptible discontent, the state government plans to replace him with Harpreet Sidhu, who is currently on his second central deputation and is posted as the Additional Director General (ADG) in Indo-Tibetan Border Police.

Sidhu is known in the Punjab Police as an officer with a sharp investigative mind, capable of handling policing in the state. He had earlier led the state’s Special Task Force (STF) to deal with the drug menace.

During his first stint of central deputation, Sidhu worked with the Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), and he mostly remained posted in Naxal-infested Chhattisgarh.

The decision to change the police leadership in the state is being contemplated, as time is running out for the state government. The next Assembly election in Punjab is scheduled to take place in the early part of 2027.  

Writers’ Building, Once Seat Of Power In Bengal, Remains In The 'Red'

More than a decade ago, the West Bengal state government shifted its office from the historic Writers’ Building, which had served as the state secretariat for more than a century. This shift coincided with the ouster of the previous Left Front regime.

Officially, it was said then that the Writers’ Building needed a huge overhaul and repair and would be undergoing restoration. The renovation is now more or less complete, but the incumbent government shows no interest in moving back.

People in the know say that this reluctance is due to a superstition among the state’s bureaucrats. The Writers’ Building is painted in red — a colour that some of them consider "inauspicious". A few of them point out that all those who ruled from the red coloured building had to quit at some stage.

The British administrators who ruled from the Writers’ Building had to shift to Delhi after Lord Curzon shifted India's capital there. The British had to eventually quit India in 1947. 

Immediately after Independence, the Congress party ruled the state for almost three decades before losing power in 1977. The Left Front government similarly ruled for about three-and-a-half decades, before losing steam.

The "temporary" secretariat of the state government, called Nabanna, is painted in white and blue. The same colour combination now can be seen across Kolkata on footpaths, bridges, and other public infrastructure.

Quite a few superstitious bureaucrats apparently believe that blue symbolises the colour of the sea, and has brought better fortune to the state in the last one and a half decade.

That’s why nobody knows whether the historic red-coloured Writers’ Building will ever again turn into the seat of power for the government.

(Contributed by Pawan Kumar, Mahua Sengupta Venkatesh & Jayanta Roy Chowdhury; anchored by Abhijit Mukhopadhyay)