Nitish Kumar gifts a Rajya Sabha ticket to his trusted IAS, RCP

THE Indian bureaucrats who have been dreaming to join politics mid-way may find Ram Chandra Prasad Singh or RCP, a 1984 batch Uttar Pradesh cadre IAS, an icon now. Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar, has decided to reward his trusted principal secretary and proverbial shadow for over a decade, RCP with a Rajya Sabha ticket.

If RCP who was in staff office of Mr Kumar during the latter’s tenure as ministers during JD and BJP time, gets the requisite clearances of his parent cadre UP, the 52-year old bureaucrat will be Nitish’s man in Upper House of Parliament. RCP, who was DM in Rampur and Barabanki in early 1990s, spent seven consecutive years from 1997 in minister’s office including in communication, railways, surface transport and agriculture. In 2005, he got himself shifted to Bihar and became Nitish Kumar’s key man.

Incidentally, 1960 batch IAS and former finance minister Yaswant Sinha joined politics in 1984 when he was a principal secretary to current Bihar CM’s mentor and then chief minister Karpoori Thakur. Interestingly, RCP joined IAS on the same year Mr Sinha left IAS to join active politics. If Mr Sinha has made it, will RCP too make into the Union cabinet some day? RCP’s skills on Netagiri may determine his fate.

All Sonia Gandhi’s IAS

As Prime Minister nominated a number of eminent persons as Members of National Advisory Council (NAC) in consultation with the chairperson Sonia Gandhi, BoI spots those members who had an IAS innings.

a) Ms Aruna Roy, 64, who received the Magsaysay Award in 2000, served in the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) from 1968-1974 before resigning to devote more time to social and political causes.

b) NC Saxena, a former IAS who retired as the secretary, Planning Commission. He has been engaged in projects related to planning, development, natural resource management, rural livelihoods, social sector programmes, poverty alleviation etc.

c) Harsh Mander, 54, is a former IAS officer who is now a human rights activist. He heads Aman Biradari, which works for communal harmony.

d) The last but not the least Rita Sharma, a 1974 batch IAS of Uttar Pradesh cadre who was rural development secretary. She would now be secretary of the NAC on a contract basis.