Columns: Race Course Road

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India Today, January 11, 1999
Jan 11, 1999

RACE COURSE ROAD
Perform of Perish...

...is Vajpayee's ultimatum to the bureaucracy.

By Prabhu Chawla

Better late than never. It is now clear that Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee firmly believes in this dictum. For the past nine months he has tolerated a defiant civil service, resisting pressures for a massive purge, in the belief that it would fall in line and deliver. Since he took office, he has shuffled just 20 of the 90-odd secretary-level officials. He has even retained some who are overtly anti-BJP and have been conspiring against the Government. But last week, he chose to strike back with a vengeance by serving a final notice: perform or perish. Vajpayee seems to have finally realised that failure to keep the bureaucracy on a tight leash will mean more trouble for him, even encourage some to gang up with his political opponents to topple his Government.

In a cabinet system of governance, it is the prime minister who has the final say in the appointment of secretaries to the Central Government. And they report to their respective ministers and the prime minister through the cabinet secretary. Since none of the BJP ministers, including the prime minister, has any significant experience of handling a powerful bureaucracy, the BJP-led coalition has not been able to ensure its total support. During his recent meetings with party MPs and ministers, Vajpayee gained first-hand knowledge of the numerous instances where the civil servants defied the instructions of the prime minister himself. Armed with this evidence, Vajpayee has decided to take them on. Signals have already gone out to secretaries that they can hope to continue in their posts only if they enjoyed his confidence and not just of their minister.

Even while going in for this administrative surgery, the prime minister decided to follow well-established norms of governance. Last week he summoned Cabinet Secretary Prabhat Kumar to his residence for a frank discussion on the role and performance of all senior officials. It was Vajpayee's first one-to-one dialogue with the chief of the country's civil service. During their 90-minute discussion, Vajpayee made it clear that he would like the black sheep to be identified and removed forthwith. Kumar was told in no uncertain terms that from now on the bureaucracy, and not just ministers, would be held accountable for things going wrong. Vajpayee is said to be extremely annoyed with the politicisation of the bureaucracy. He, in fact, has taken exceptions to the objectionable behaviour of a few officials who have been speculating about the longevity of the BJP-led Government.

Instead of taking preemptive action against recalcitrant officials, Vajpayee has instructed the cabinet secretary to prepare a report assessing the performance of all the secretaries during the past nine months. Kumar is expected to report to the prime minister about the achievement of various ministries with regard to the implementation of decisions taken by either the ministers concerned or by the prime minister himself. Vajpayee is planning to effect a major bureaucratic reshuffle after getting Kumar's report.

Vajpayee has also decided to reverse his earlier decision of not talking to the secretaries directly. He will deal with individual secretaries directly from mid-January. But the question remains: will Vajpayee get the better of the bureaucracy or will it survive Vajpayee?

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