Modi-Shah crack whip, record number of Babus shown the door
With Prime Minister Narendra Modi cracking the whip and bringing a new “work Culture” in the government, the Babus have started feeling the heat. Since the ‘Babus’ are not accustomed to Modi’s style of functioning, they are choosing other avenues for greener pastures. Many of them are reluctant to move over to Delhi as posting in the National capital is not lucrative anymore.
The latest trend indicates that a record number of IAS officers have opted for VRS at an early stage of their career in the services. Until September 2022 as many as eight IAS officers have opted for VRS and a significant number of them went back to their parent cadre states.
Modi’s Man-Friday and Union Home Minister Amit Shah has also created a record in his ministry when he showed the door to the largest number of Gazetted Officers (GO). During Amit Shah’s tenure in the Home Ministry since 2019, delinquent officers have been dealt with ruthlessly. Shah, on an average, has been taking strict action against one GO every week since 2021, which includes removal, dismissal and compulsory retirement. Amit Shah is also a member of Cabinet Committee on Appointments which deals with top bureaucrats posting, transfers and sacking.
The ministry dismissed 10 GOs – the highest so far during 2021 while the number was two each in 2020 and 2019. The ministry took action against 52 GO in 2021. The annual report of the MHA says that there were 237 disciplinary cases filed between April 1 and December 31, 2021, and vigilance cases were lodged against 249 GOs. It is largely because of this very reason that PM Modi decided to hire talent in the bureaucracy at the level of Joint Secretary and above through the “lateral entrant” route.
