17 June 2003

PM LOSES HIS BLUE-EYED BOY: MAN FRIDAY'S MANIPULATION

From Jal Khambata

NEW DELHI: The Prime Minister's Principal Secretary Brajesh Mishra has finally succeeded in dislodging Ashok Saikia, the so-called "foster son" of Atal Bihari Vajpayee from the Prime Minister's Office (PMO).

Saikia, a 1971 batch IAS officer of Assam cadre, has been the ears and eyes of Vajpayee in all matters concerning the bureaucracy as well as in matters which are politically sensitive and required to be conducted very secretly. It was always Saikia who will run to the house of Deputy Prime Minister and Home Minister Lal Krishna Advani whenever Vajpayee felt something politically sensitive that needs to be handled carefully.

Though just a Joint Secretary in the PMO, Saikia's proxmimity to Vajpayee was always a matter of annoyance to Mishra. It was Saikia who had successfully persuaded Vajpayee not to fill up the post of the Secretary in the PMO after N K Singh to the Planning Commission. Saikia had very good rapport with Singh while he feared his position will weaken if some other assertive officer becomes his boss.

Brajesh Mishra knew this weakness of Saikia and so he manipulated to get the retiring Finance Secretary Dr S Narayan appointed as the Secretary to the PM by getting him extension. And, he did it when Saikia is away on a brief training programme abroad. Saikia had opposed an earlier attempt to bring Dr Narayan to the PMO and so Mishra thought and rightly so that Saikia will not be prepared to act as a subordinate to Narayan.

A pricked Saikia has made it known to all his bureaucrat friends in Delhi that he would prefer to go back to Guwahati on his return from the foreign training and that he has always conveyed to Vajpayee to relieve him from the PMO.

Saikia also enjoys support of Advani and hence he could have approached Advani to scuttle Narayan's appointment in the PMO but he found Brajesh Mishra succeeding in the coup by timing the appointment in such a way that neither Saikia is in Delhi nor is Advani who could have put it on the hold. The public controversy raked up between Vajpayee and Advani because of BJP President M Venkaiah Naidu's attempt to equate them also prevented Saikia from approaching Advani lest it creates another speculation to dub him as Advanis mole in the PM's house.

Of course, Advani's consent was secured over telephone for Narayan's appointment as all senior appointments are required to be cleared by the Cabinet Committee on Appointment and Advani is a member of the Committee.

Brajesh Mishra, however, managed in a such a fashion that Advani had no option but to consent. It concerns not only the appointment of Narayan but also the appointment of his successor as the new Finance Secretary. Advani would have never liked Dinesh Chandra Gupta become the Finance Secretary but he could do little about it. Insiders say even Finance Minister Jaswant Singh was reluctant to take Gupta as the Finance Secretary but he relented when Vajpayee stressed on his name. Little did Jaswant Singh realise that Brajesh Mishra had persuaded Vajpayee not to leave the post of Narayan vacant once he shifts to the PMO.

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