July 07, 2011 10:48:45 PM
Amitabh Shukla | Chandigarh
The politicisation of bureaucracy and the bureaucratisation of politics is almost complete in
With Assembly elections a little over six months away and stakes very high, political parties have roped in the bureaucracy for furthering their agenda while the bureaucrats are courting the political masters to gain a foothold in the rough and unpredictable world of politics.
At least four police officers, some retired, some serving, are eyeing politics as a new career. This includes the Director General of Police P S Gill who is expected to contest from Moga on an Akali Dal ticket. There are many others who are waiting in the wings – willing to put in their papers to contest the Assembly polls if given a party ticket.
Retired IPS officer Mohammad Izhar Alam, who made his mark during the era of militancy, too is expected to put his hat in the ring from Malerkotla Assembly constituency – the only segment in the state where the Muslims have a decisive role in ensuring the victory of a candidate. If nominated, he will contest against Razia Sultana, the wife of his former colleague in the IPS, Mohammad Mustafa, now Additional DGP. Alam officially joined SAD after retirement and was subsequently made Chairman of the Punjab Waqf Board.
Former DGPs Chander Shekhar and SS Virk too are expected to try their hands in politics, both as Congress nominee. Virk, perceived to be very close to Captain Amarinder Singh, was the DGP during the Congress regime and was persecuted by the Vigilance when SAD came to power. He was closely identified with the Congress when he was the DGP and then chargesheeted and accused of “politicking and misuse of official position” when SAD-BJP came to power in 2007.
A similar charge is now being made against the present DGP, P S Gill by both the Congress and the Punjab People’s Party (PPP) headed by Manpreet Singh Badal. Gill will retire in September and can contest the polls, scheduled to be held in February, without any problem. Sources have ruled out any extension being given to him. Moreover, the Election Commission is likely to scuttle any such move and will play a major role in the selection of the next DGP in the state who will take the state to polls.
Not only the police, even the civil servants in the race for contesting the polls. Prominent amongst them is D S Guru, Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal and an IAS officer of the 1980 batch. Unlike DGP Gill, the officer will have to put in his papers if he decides to contest the polls.
Captain Amarinder Singh, former CM and PCC President, alleged that some of the officers are “acting like Jathedars” of the Akali Dal and claimed that he had never seen such politicization of bureaucrats in his political career spanning 42 years.
Manpreet Badal’s PPP has submitted a memorandum to the Governor alleging harassment of his workers at the behest of the “politicised” police and bureaucracy. He said the DGP has become a “stakeholder” in subverting the democratic process. The memorandum to the Governor has also accused senior bureaucrats of favouring the ruling dispensation to silence the opposition.
In the deeply divided politics of the state, the fault lines run deep. The state has been swinging one way (SAD) or the other (Congress) for the last over three decades. No wonder the police officers and bureaucracy too swing from one party to the other. A few have permanent allegiance to one party while the remaining prefer to be neutral, knowing well that reprisals and poor postings could follow if “their” political party does not come back to power.
“It requires a delicate balancing act…We have to be on guard all the time so that we are not identified with a particular party,” summed up a senior
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