Musical chairs in Mayawati’s UP

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal"><span style="" font-family:="" times="" new="" roman="" class="author">Arvind Singh Bisht</span><br />Lucknow: In what is typical of the bureaucratic reshuffles in Uttar Pradesh, chief secretary Ajay Prakash Varma was unceremoniously shown the door on Thursday night. But the drama that preceded it was so bizarre that it had the entire state babudom rattled.At around 11.30 pm, Varma was presiding over a meeting in his office when he was interrupted by a gentleman who simply walked in and said: ‘‘Excuse me, I am the new chief secretary.’’ Till then, not many knew that D S Bagga, a 1967 batch IAS officer, who had flown in from Delhi earlier in the day, was to take over as the 36th chief secretary of the state. A flustered bureaucracy is too afraid to comment. While the IAS officers’ association refused to say anything, apparently fearing a repercussion, some senior serving and retired officials — requesting not to be named — said: ‘‘UP’s bureaucracy is the worst in the country.’’ A retired official said: ‘‘The IAS cadre is a victim of the changing values of society. It has no faith in the past and no hope for the future.’’ He said the incident was a big blow to an institution as prestigious as the chief secretary’s. Surprisingly, Bagga virtually laid siege to the chief secretary’s office much before the formal order of his appointment was issued. While Varma was too stunned for words, the department of appointment and personnel immediately swung into action when it came to know about chief minister Mayawati’s diktat in Bagga’s favour. Sources said Bagga’s posting did not seem to be a part of the BSP’s ‘‘Dalit agenda’’ as he was a ‘‘Khattri’’ and a native of Patiala. However, the fact that he had the backing of party chief Kanshi Ram seemed to have sealed the verdict in his favour. Bagga was holding a comparatively insignificant post of investment commissioner in New Delhi before he was picked up for the coveted post. He has superseded five officers of his batch. </div> </div>