A Union Cabinet Minister and the Chief Minister of a prominent state has been fighting a proxy battle, and the result is not too delightful for the Union Cabinet Minister as he seems to have lost the war even though he thought that he won the battle. At the center of the conflict has been an IRTS officer who had been posted on deputation as OSD to a state CM. The Union Cabinet Minister wanted to uproot the officer from the state to humiliate the CM for reasons best known to him. He even lobbied with the previous railway minister Suresh Prabhu in this regard. But Prabhu was redeployed to Commerce and the Minister's project of getting the recall order for the officer crashed. But the Union Minister continued his efforts, and finally got the order issued for reversal of the officer to his service cadre. But the rules make it clear that an officer can't take his new assignment till he is relieved from his current job. In the case of the officer concerned, though he is posted to the Allahabad zone, the CMO has not yet relieved him, adding insult to the injury of the Union Cabinet Minister.