New man named to occupy Raj Bhavan Another picked by Delhi
|
Hand picked by New Delhi and there are reasons why the appointment of former Home Secretary Ajay Kumar Bhalla as the Governor of Manipur has kicked up a degree of interest with keen observers of the political development in the State having different says on the matter. A favourite with Delhi, given the fact that his tenure as the Home Secretary was extended at least four times, which helped him complete five years in the said position and in the process made him only the second person to occupy the position of Home Secretary for five years. More than enough indication that he has been able to earn the trust and confidence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. In sending Bhalla to the Raj Bhavan, Delhi is making it clear that it has sent its own man here and this could mean so many things for Manipur. With the wings of the Chief Minister supposedly being clipped, by way of removing him as the Chairman of the Unified Command, plus the emerging stories that the DGP and the Security Advisor are understood to not have heeded instructions from the Chief Minister’s office, the new man at the Raj Bhavan has obviously aroused people’s interest, in a way no previous appointment has done. The challenges before the newly named Governor are immense and the question doing the round is whether Manipur can expect anything concrete from him, in the face of the fact that he was Union Home Secretary when the violence erupted on May 3, 2023 and was there in the same position till August this year. Was he a part of the indifferent Delhi, a mindset that has developed amongst many keen observers of the evolving nature of the ongoing clash, or will he be looking to start here from a fresh slate, unfettered by the false narratives that had been weaved so dexterously, is a question that has already started doing the round amongst some of the more sensitive and inquisitive people of Manipur. Early days yet, but whatever the case may be, it is good for Manipur to have a full fledged Governor and many will obviously start studying how well Chief Minister N Biren manages to walk with the newly named Governor. It will also be interesting to see how the Governor walks the talk with the Security Advisor, the DGP and the soon to be named Chief Secretary. Remember much like the Governor, the Security Advisor and the DGP were handpicked by Delhi with a Chief Secretary to be named anytime soon.
The established norm is for Delhi to name the Governor, while it has always been the job of the Chief Minister to pick the Chief Secretary and the DGP of a State, but after Manipur went up in flames on May 3, 2023 and amid the talk doing the round that Article 355 has been imposed on Manipur, it is now to Delhi that everyone would be looking up to see who is named the Chief Secretary. With Vineet Joshi having been shifted to New Delhi as the Secretary of Higher Education, at least three names are doing the round on who would be named the next CS. PK Singh an IAS officer of the 1993 batch is an old Manipur hand and so is Rajesh Agarwal of the 1994 batch. VK Dewangan, again of the 1993 batch, is another old hand and all three belong to the Manipur cadre. New Governor and a new Chief Secretary in the offing but the most important question is whether this would have any positive impact on the ongoing clash. Too early to say, but Delhi should remember that it is not a new Governor or a new Chief Secretary which Manipur desperately needs at the moment, but a demonstration of concern. So long as the indifference of Delhi continues the appointment of a new Governor and a new Chief Secretary will be taken as nothing more than cosmetic changes effected to show that something is being done to address the ongoing clash which is already into its 19th month and there is no indication that Manipur will start walking the road to normalcy anytime in the coming days.
The established norm is for Delhi to name the Governor, while it has always been the job of the Chief Minister to pick the Chief Secretary and the DGP of a State, but after Manipur went up in flames on May 3, 2023 and amid the talk doing the round that Article 355 has been imposed on Manipur, it is now to Delhi that everyone would be looking up to see who is named the Chief Secretary. With Vineet Joshi having been shifted to New Delhi as the Secretary of Higher Education, at least three names are doing the round on who would be named the next CS. PK Singh an IAS officer of the 1993 batch is an old Manipur hand and so is Rajesh Agarwal of the 1994 batch. VK Dewangan, again of the 1993 batch, is another old hand and all three belong to the Manipur cadre. New Governor and a new Chief Secretary in the offing but the most important question is whether this would have any positive impact on the ongoing clash. Too early to say, but Delhi should remember that it is not a new Governor or a new Chief Secretary which Manipur desperately needs at the moment, but a demonstration of concern. So long as the indifference of Delhi continues the appointment of a new Governor and a new Chief Secretary will be taken as nothing more than cosmetic changes effected to show that something is being done to address the ongoing clash which is already into its 19th month and there is no indication that Manipur will start walking the road to normalcy anytime in the coming days.