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| Bureaucraticisation of politics in J&K | | | Early Times Special Correspondent
Jammu | June 1
News Analysis
With three former Chief Secretaries in the state joining three major mainstream political parties, the speculations have become rife about the course to be adopted by other two retired Chief Secretaries, who are the sons of the soil. While the abrupt development of B R Kundal demitting his post as Chief Secretary, about six months before he reaches his superannuation and joining the Congress, with all probability of his getting inductive into the state cabinet, immediately after his resignation is accepted, the two other former Chief Secretaries, Sheikh Ghulam Rasood and Vijay Bakaya had joined National Conference and PDP respectively, without much fan fare.
But the case of B R Kundal is almost unprecedented, since simultaneously with the breaking of the news of his seeking premature retirement and joining politics—the Congress, the news about his getting inducted in the state cabinet on the very day his resignation is accepted, has taken the political circles by storm. His joining the state cabinet at a time when only about four months are left for the elections to the state assembly and consequently the term of the present government, has raised many eyebrows, notwithstanding the high respect and general goodwill commanded by B R Kundal in the state as a whole and particularly in Jammu region. The question on many lips is, what is the hurry? He could be better inducted into the cabinet, in the government to be formed after the elections, if the Congress had emerged victorious to form the next government on its own or in coalition with some other party or parties. The reports are that Kundal will be fielded as a Congress candidate from Samba reserved constituency, although he hails from R S Pura, which too is a reserved constituency, but since R S Pura has already a heavy weight Congress SC candidate Mrs. Suman Bhagat, in Samba there is no formidable candidate for the Congress. Kundal's induction in the Azad cabinet can be explained to be aimed at empowering him to influence the voters as a minister, by doing favours to them. This is not viewed as a healthy democratic practice by the objective observers, most of whom otherwise hold Mr. B R Kundal in high esteem, particularly for his humility and accessibility to a common man.
Coming to the speculations about other two retired Chief Secretaries, S S Baloria belonging to Jammu and P Thumpsung who belongs to Leh, there are wild speculations of their joining some other parties to maintain the balance of the scale. Will S S Baloria join Panthers Party or BJP and Thumpsung the local political outfit of Leh fighting for union territory status. But these are only kite flying without any substance. For Baloria, the choice could be between Congress, to which party belongs presently his better half or Panthers Party, whose active member at one time his wife, Rani Gargi was before her marriage. But with the Panthers Party Supremo being unpredictable and unreliable, believed to be a clownish adventurist and opportunistic, no person with dignity and self respect would like to work with him. The present leadership of BJP in Jammu too is incompetent unreliable and not carrying any good opinion among the people at large. Joining of any wise and self respecting person in the party is ruled out.
In the meanwhile with the joining of some top former bureaucrats into some political parties, a new term has been coined, as bureaucraticisation of politics, against the prevailing term of politicization of bureaucracy or even criminalization of politics. |
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