The Men From Gujarat Who Run The Government

What is common among Rajiv Topno, A K Sharma, Tapan Ray, V Thiruppugazh, G C Murmu and P K Mishra? Too tough a challenge, right? Well, all of them are part of always expanding ‘Gujarat Team’ of Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, dearly and respectfully called as ‘Modi’s G Team’ in the corridors of power of the national capital.

No less than 25 top bureaucrats heading various departments and agencies run by government of India are from Gujarat cadre and most of them have been brought to Delhi from Gandhinagar in Gujarat by the Prime Minister himself since he took charge of the cabinet during the summer of 2014. Some of these seasoned bureaucrats have been working with the Prime Minister even as early as in 2001 while some have been identified as ‘hard-working IAS’ by his excellency himself and groomed up during his days as Chief Minister of Gujarat.

A K Sharma, Joint Secretary in PMO, G C Murmu, Additional Secretary in Ministry of Finance, V Thiruppugazh, Chairman of National Disaster Management Agency, Hasmukh Adhia, country’s Revenue Secretary of even P K Mishra, the most-trusted lieutenant of Modi and Principal Secretary in PMO all have been calling the shots in the government these days. Known for their integrity, dedication, hard-working abilities and easy accessibility, these officers can be given the credit for running the government on behalf of the Prime Minister, also known for his dedication at work. The PMO is absolutely run by Gujarat cadre officers.

While now retired P K Mishra (have been inducted even after his retirement from coveted Indian Administrative Services) has been heading the Prime Minister’s Office, much younger Rajiv Topno, yet another Gujarat cadre IAS has been holding the prestigious post of Director, PMO. Mishra and Topno are flanked by one of Modi’s oldest and trusted officers, A K Sharma, who during Modi’s days as Chief Minister of Gujarat, also held the charge of Principal Secretary, CMO in Gandhinagar during Modi’s early days in running a state. Topno, however, been posted in Delhi before Modi took charge as the Prime Minister. A graduate of St. Xavier’s College in Kolkata, Topno has been handed over crucial duties and responsibilities as the Director of PMO after Modi came into power. “His ability to identify talents and trustworthy men to work with him needs to be appreciated. He is a perfect HR manager whom any corporate would have loved to hire,” says a senior bureaucrat in Delhi. “Another big point here is that wherever he has been at the helm of affairs, be it within his party, his days as CM of Gujarat and now as the Prime Minister, Modi loves to run the show with the help of a few people with whom his mental frequency matches and their worthiness have been proved in a course of time,” said he, requesting anonymity. The author of this column also agrees to such takes as he had the chance to cover Modi as CM of Gujarat for 10 long years since his day one as the head of the state. Some of the present incumbents of PMO these days were behind an efficient operations of Government of Gujarat in those days. No wonder, the former PRO to Gujarat CM, Jagdish Thakkar also has been brought to Delhi by the PM as his media adviser.

Only person missing from this list of officers who were there in those days with Modi in the CMO, is Anil Mukim. Mukim is now the Principal Secretary in the Department of Health in Gujarat. Guruprasad Mohapatra, Tapan Ray, Amarjit Singh are three officers who have been respectively holding the crucial offices of Joint Secretary of Ministry of Commerce, Secretary of Ministry of Corporate Affairs and Additional Secretary of Ministry of Water Development also known to be some of the officers enjoying a close proximity with the Prime Minister even before he could be sworn-in for the second highest officer manning the country. Officers like Rita Teoatia, Raj Kumar, P K Pujari, now holding various charges in the Ministry of Commerce, Department of Economic Affairs and Ministry of Power also belong to the vital G-team of the Prime Minister. R P Gupta, another senior officer now holding the charge of Joint Secretary in Ministry of Coal also has been featured in the ‘G-team’ of the Prime Minister. Sunaina Tomar, another senior IAS and wife of IPS officer, Ajay Tomar has been given the charge of Ministry of Textiles as Joint Secretary. Like other members of the Prime Minister’s core team of bureaucrats, Tomar is also known for her close proximity with the Prime Minister. Naturally, known also as a hard-worker who on a regular habit sacrifices even his sleep to work, Modi’s choices have always been the officers who are known for their ability to handle pressure at work.

“Modi believes in rewarding men who stood by him in his tough days. Officers like A K Sharma, Murmu, Mishra, Adhia, Mohapatra stood by Modi when he faced media heat and strong criticisms during his days as Gujarat Chief Minister. After a clean sweep in general elections when he took charge as the Prime Minister of India, he remembered each of these senior officers and rewarded them with prize-postings,” said a senior political journalist based in the national capital. “A typical September-born quality it is,” he smiles and adds.