Gujarat: Is BJP top brass trying to clip wings of CM Vijay Rupani?

Incumbent chief secretary of Gujarat, J.N. Singh, is to retire on Saturday and he is set to be replaced by Anil Mukim, who is currently serving as secretary, Union ministry of mines, New Delhi.

There were rumours that Singh might get an extension of six months. However, the appointment of Mukim, a 1985 batch officer, in his place has created much flutter in the corridors of power in Gujarat for multiple reasons.

Considered to be close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Mukim supersedes 1984 batch IAS officer Arvind Agrawal, who is currently posted as additional chief secretary in the finance department in Gujarat. Mukim was in the CMO in 2002 when Modi was the chief minister of the state. The year had witnessed communal riots in Gujarat.

Mukim, whose work in rehabilitation post Gujarat earthquake of 2001 was highly praised, had also defended Modi saying IPS officer Sanjiv Bhatt was not present at a meeting held on February 27, 2002. Bhatt had claimed that he was present at the meeting.

A related development that took place hours before Mukim was named the chief secretary was shunting out of Ahmedabad Collector Vikrant Pandey and sending him away to New Delhi. He is being replaced by K. K. Nirala.

Pandey had allegedly benefited a property dealer in a deal worth crores of rupees in a posh locality in Ahmedabad. The agents/fixers involved in the deal are reportedly from Rajkot, the city from where CM Vijay Rupani hails.

According to sources, one of top ministers in the Modi cabinet had in fact personally called up Rupani and the latter was told in no uncertain terms that such things won't be tolerated. A section of BJP leaders and law makers are also reportedly unhappy with the alleged interference of Anjali Rupani, wife of CM Rupani. Anjali, who refused to speak to the media when Rupani became chief minister in 2016 in a dramatic turn of events, is being regularly spotted in various functions, occupying the first row. It is also alleged that she meets a few IAS officers.

The grapevine has it that works recommended by several law makers from the BJP have not been completed, while works recommended by politicians and fixers from Rajkot have been carried out.

Rupani has been considered as Amit Shah's man. However, party insiders say, of late Shah has also not been liking the way Rupani functions.

The shunting out of Pandey as collector of Ahmedabad and bringing in of Mukim as the chief secretary is seen by the party insiders as clear message to Rupani that he is being continuously monitored.

Rupani is proactive, and considered as a person who takes quick decisions. However, of late there have been a slew of decisions, which suggest that he has been acting in a hurry.

Even party insiders wonder if this in a bid to preempt number one and number two in the party from taking any decision.

After the BJP lost three seats, including that of Alpesh Thakore, in the recently concluded assembly by-polls, people begin to wonder if Rupani would be replaced. After all, in 2001, the then chief minister Keshubhai Patel was removed for losing lesser number of seats than Rupani and Modi was brought in as the chief minister.

Gujarat BJP spokesperson Bharat Pandya, however, maintained that the Rupani government has been performing well and the chief minister is a man of quick decisions. “He takes decisions at the right time,” he said, pointing out to the decisions taken in favour of farmers.

When pointed out that the Rupani seems to be in a hurry when it comes to taking decisions, Pandya said the chief minister himself has said on many occasions that he is playing a 20:20 match.