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With Mishra repatriated as 'UP CS', the center's politics rolls on: Read between lines

By Rakesh Ranjan- 30 Dec 2021
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New Delhi (30.12.2021): Wednesday's ACC announcement of the repatriation of Union Secretary for Housing & Urban Affairs Durga Shanker Mishra, a 1984 batch UP cadre IAS officer, who is set to retire two days later, has drawn the attention of one and all for its unique wording.
The notification reads: “The Appointments Committee of the Cabinet has approved repatriation of Shri Durga Shanker Mishra, lAS (UP:1984) to his cadre for his proposed appointment as Chief Secretary, Uttar Pradesh by the State Government of Uttar Pradesh.”
Normally, when an officer is repatriated, the ACC never states the posting the officer will get in his state cadre.
The wording of the notification suggests that the central government is repatriating Mishra because the state government has 'proposed' to make him the CS and therefore the center was complying with a request from the UP government. Not surprisingly, the Centre issued another notification extending Mishra’s service by a year.
Not unusual because both the central and UP governments are run by the same party. It is quite likely that both governments might have consulted each other on the issue and might have felt that Mishra may be more useful as the CS since the state is scheduled to face elections in a few months that appears increasingly complex for the ruling dispensation. A section of officers at Centre also believes that having seen little scope for the key position (post-retirement) at Centre Mishra too would have been eager to take up the coveted post in the home state. In UP it may prove to be a 'perform or perish' moment as well for Mishra. One can not rule out the possibility that if he does well for the New Delhi establishment he may gather the eligibility for Central Election Commission post-December 2022.  
Since Mishra will replace Rajendra Kumar Tiwari (1985 batch IAS) as state CS, it may be considered necessary to bring Tiwari to the center, unless there is something more interesting for his accommodation in the state itself.
Mishra's repatriation as CS has triggered a lot of political speculations. He was once a PS to BSP supremo Behen Mayawati. So, it is speculated whether Mishra's appointment is part of BJP's outreach program to the BSP leader. In this context, it is pointed out that when the BJP won the state election last time, there was a plan then to make Mishra the state chief secretary in the belief at the center that Adityanath may not measure up to the stupendous task that lay ahead in UP. However, to maintain the public image of harmony within the party, the center scuttled its own plan as it had scuttled the plan to make Manoj Sinha the CM.
But, now, in the face of an impending election, the state CM finds himself on a weak wicket having estranged a lot of party workers and leaders. So the center is seen to have stepped into managing the state administration. It could also be the center's way of showing Adityanath his place. Very few would have observed that with Mishra as CS till December 2022 Avanish Kumar Awasthi (IAS:1987:UP) finally loses the chance as Chief Secretary in his home state.
(By Rakesh Ranjan)

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