Government posts key ministerial staff ahead of election results

New Delhi, May 7 (IANS) Weeks before the results of general election are known, the central government has shifted many Ministerial staff back to regular departmental postings.

While a government official pointed to possible uncertainty over the current government returning power or the Ministers being retained, a Secretary-level official termed it as routine maintaining that it was usual practice.

"Generally, there are Ministers who are not sure of being retained in the next government. In this case, as a courtesy they ask their personal secretary or OSD (officer on special duty) for choice of their postings," the official said.

In a May 7 order, the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet (ACC) curtailed the tenure of Ashima Jain as private secretary to Minister of State for Food Processing Industries Niranjan Jyoti.

Jain has been appointed Deputy Secretary in the Department of Economic Affairs.

In another official order on Tuesday, the government approved the proposal for curtailment of tenure of N. Ashok Kumar as OSD to the Minister of State for Human Resource Development Satya Pal Singh and appointed him as Director in the Department of Commerce.

Ajay Yadav, the OSD to the Minister for Consumer Affairs, Food and Public Distribution Ram Vilas Paswan, has been appointed as Deputy Secretary in the Ministry of Civil Aviation.

The condition of reverting the officer to the cadre on cessation of tenure as OSD has also been waived.

The ACC has also posted Durga Sakthi Nagpal as Deputy Secretary in the Department of Commerce, shifting her from the post of OSD to the Minister for Agriculture Radha Mohan Singh.