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Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee is considering various changes in the Prime Minister's Office and in numerous top bureaucratic posts.
Around 65 posts will see new faces soon. These range from the level of joint secretary to cabinet secretary and additional director general to director generals.
The appointment of Prodipto Ghosh has been cleared by the Appointment's Committee of the Cabinet. He comes in as additional secretary in the PMO and will advise Vajpayee on economic matters.
Ghosh is a senior environment specialist at the Asian Development Bank in Manila. He joined the IAS in 1969 after completing engineering from IIT, Delhi.
Vajpayee is comfortable with Ghosh as he was his secretary when external affairs minister.
Though Ghosh is not identified with any group, he is said to be close to Ranjan Bhattacharya, the prime minister's son-in-law.
Sources also say that days are numbered for Brajesh Mishra in the PMO. The principal secretary has faced flak from the Sangh Parivar in recent times, the latest being on his alleged relationship with the Hindujas.
Mishra is being offered various options. One of them is going to Washington as ambassador. Another is moving to the Planning Commission as deputy chairman.
The Sangh Parivar has been stressing that retired officers should not be rehabilitated in government posts and new blood must be infused to make the jobs dynamic. Mishra is over 70.
H K Dua, the PM's press advisor, is being sent to Denmark as ambassador in early July. An official announcement is expected later this week.
Names doing the rounds for the new press advisor are that of the media-friendly Seshadri Chari, editor of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh mouthpiece Organiser and Tarun Vijay, the editor of Panchajanya, the BJP mouthpiece. Seshadri recently accompanied Vajpayee to Tehran.
However, Dua's post is likely to remain vacant, according to latest indications. At the moment, Ashok Tandon and Sudheendra Kulkarni are handling the media. Later, the prime minster is likely to settle for a high-profile journalist who can bring credibility to the post.
According to a source, nearly five dozen bureaucratic posts are going to see changes soon after the assembly election results are out.
Joint secretaries in the PMO, Ashok Saikia and Kulkarni, are reportedly shortlisting names of senior bureaucrats for the PM to consider.
Vajpayee has been studying their profiles and backgrounds and in some cases even called them over for interviews. In some cases, he has called them for chats on their ministries, but has used the opportunity to study them. He is also trying to figure out how loyal they would be.
The PM has also been reviewing the performance of various ministries in the last few weeks.
Telecom Secretary Shyamal Ghosh was being initially considered for the post of secretary in the PMO. But, he may be sent back to Gujarat, his home cadre, to oversee earthquake relief and rehabilitation work. Ghosh is also seen as too close to Telecommunications Minister Ram Vilas Paswan.
Vajpayee is also reportedly looking at Defence Secretary Yogendra Narayan for the post of principal secretary.
Home Secretary Kamal Pande is likely to be made cabinet secretary. Pradeep Baijal, secretary, disinvestment, is expected to take over as home secretary.
As Intelligence Bureau Director Shymal Dutta retires in end May, the search is on for a replacement. IB Special Director K P Singh is seen as the front-runner.
The Central Bureau of Investigation also has an acting director in P C Sharma, as Vajpayee has not been able to finalise a successor to R K Raghavan.
Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Chandrababu Naidu wanted H J Dora, Director General of Police, Andhra Pradesh, installed in the post. Naidu is understood to be exerting pressure on Vajpayee to take Andhra Pradesh cadre officials in some other key posts.
Border Security Force Director Gurbachan Jagat is likely to be shifted after the Bangladesh intrusion. A name under consideration for that post is Central Reserve Police Force Director Dr Trinath Mishra.
According to a source, Vajpayee had asked Union Home Minister L K Advani to suggest names of bureaucrats, who could be considered in the reshuffle. Whether his choices will make it to the final list, to be announced in a few days, remains to be seen.
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