Waiting for change
Three former chief secretaries are waiting for change of government in the state. During Congress rule, the trio held important positions; however, they have been upset since the government fell three years ago. Because they long to enjoy power, they are waiting for the Congress to form the next government. One of them has set an eye on an important post, and if the present government goes after the election, the former chief secretary who has left Madhya Pradesh, may again be seen at the Chief Minister’s Secretariat. This Sahib is collecting funds for the party for the ensuing election as well as interacting with a section of people seeking dough from them. Similarly, another former chief secretary thinks once the government is changed, he will be given an important assignment. This is the reason that they are monitoring the political developments in the state.
Money trap
Cancellation of currency notes of Rs 2,000 denomination may not have any impact on the ordinary people, but it has had an effect on the rich. An IAS officer had to face a lot of difficulties in exchanging a huge amount of currency notes of Rs 2,000 denomination for currency notes of smaller denomination. The person, whom the officer had handed over the dough to keep, had converted the money into the currency notes of Rs 2,000 denomination. When Sahib came to know that the government had withdrawn the currency notes of Rs 2,000 denomination from the market, he got the shock of his life. Immediately after that, he began to change those currency notes. It is heard that he has converted bank notes of Rs 2,000 denomination amounting Rs 8 crore. He succeeded in doing that after making a lot of efforts. To get the work done, the Sahib had to take the help of hospitals and jewellers. Now, he thinks lest the owners of the hospitals and the jewellery shops – where the Sahib changed those currency notes – should blow the lid off his backhanders. Should the higher-ups have a whiff of his hush money, his future would be in the dark. This is what frightens him.
Bitter pill
Many IAS couples are living separately because of the state government policies. Eight months have passed since an additional chief secretary-rank officer has gone on deputation, but his wife, a principal secretary, has yet to get permission for deputation. Similarly, a long time has passed since an IAS officer was attached to a Union Minister, but his wife is still in the state. An additional secretary rank officer has recently been sent to the Centre on deputation, but his wife, also an IAS officer, is longing for permission to join her husband. Since her husband is in Chennai, the lady officer is searching for a suitable post there. In another case, although an IAS officer has been allowed to go on deputation, his wife, an IPS officer, is still in the state. The IAS couples are scared of applying for deputation to the Centre, since they feel it may separate them from each other.
Opposition’s spy
A senior IAS officer is reportedly spying for the Congress these days. He is giving feedback on various affairs of the government to a senior leader of the party. Besides the cases of his own department, he is providing information to the Congress about the goings-on in the other departments. He is in touch with the leaders of the party. After the outcome of the Karnataka election, Sahib is enthusiastic about the Congress’s prospects in Madhya Pradesh. The government has made him in-charge of an important project, but it has been in a dormant state for several months. Similarly, another important project, the government has handed over to him, is plugged by rampant offstage dealings. Since he wants the Congress to form the next government, he is sparing no effort to louse it up.
Cops turn astrologers
There are discussions in the corridors of power about the officers of the police department taking interest in astrology. Several police officers have taken a plunge into the subject after retirement. A retired police officer is studying the subject as he was doing for his formal education and working hard to understand its nuances. He does not want to confine himself only to telling the future of others but yearns for learning the impact of all the planets on human life. Ergo, he keeps plugging away at the subject most of the time. Apart from him, two other police officers are pegging away at the subject. They are sifting through the horoscopes of several people and telling them how to get rid of the evil effects of various planets. An IPS officer, still in service, is busy going through the books of astrology, after his daily work. About him it is said that he is an expert in scrutinising horoscopes. All said and done, it is interesting to note that those who are supposed to maintain law and order are becoming fortune tellers.
Friend in need
Fair-weather friends are found everywhere, but their number is higher in the administration than in any other places. Many bureaucrats realise it after their retirement when so-called friends leave them, but several IPS officers have shown a fine example of camaraderie. The house of a recently retired IPS officer has been set ablaze in Manipur which has been witnessing an unprecedented ethnic violence for the past two months. Since the flames consumed his house, money and everything, the retired officer was up the creek. He had to shift to another place. The IPS officers of the state extended their helping hand to him. After the IPS Association appealed to its members to help their retired colleague, many of them transferred money to his accounts. Many police officers lent a hand of support to let him get out of the difficult situation. The incident has made all other officers happy, because they stood by a friend in the hours of his need.
