POLITICIAN-BUREAUCRAT NEXUS: A DOUBLE-EDGED SWORD

Modi’s way Even so, a Bharatiya Janata Party functionary who works in close concert with the government concedes it is a “long haul” before the “cosy” politician-bureaucracy nexus is demolished. “For the first time, those ensconced in the Delhi structures have realised that Modi’s a team captain. His intentions have never come under a cloud, he has a focused agenda and purity of purpose, without personal motivations. This gives a shield of protection to government employees,” the functionary said.

An Uttar Pradesh cadre official, who acknowledged to morphing from being a Modi sceptic to an endorser, said the first feature that “impressed” him was the “unified command model” put in place by the PM shortly after taking office. “He made it clear that power will flow from the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and the PM will have the last word on key appointments. Modi’s predecessor was competent but my impression was he never had a grip over governance,” the officer said.

Equally significant for the bureaucracy was Modi’s use of the ‘Pragati’, an interactive platform that facilitates video-conferencing with data and geo-informatics between the PMO, Union government secretaries and state chief secretaries, to monitor the implementation of projects. “We have come out of our silos. An officer in the education department can access what’s happening in agriculture or rural development,” a bureaucrat said.

Much of the praise for Modi is, however, conditioned by how far he will go in “safeguarding” the bureaucracy’s interests. Here comes the moment of truth. Modi prides himself on offering an “incorruptible” government and never tires of reminding people of the scams the Congress party was enmeshed in. Will he dilute the PCA to coax the administration’s fealty and compromise his self-image? On the proliferating social media sites, Modi loyalists have cautioned him to not “indulge” the IAS lobby.