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3 more RAW officers protest by going on leave
As three more officers of the external intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) went on leave, the government went into a damage control mode to stem discontentment in the agency and expedite promotions of senior R&AW officers.
As three more officers of the external intelligence agency Research and Analysis Wing (R&AW) went on leave, the government went into a damage control mode to stem discontentment in the agency and expedite promotions of senior R&AW officers.
As reported by HT on Sunday, four Additional Secretary-rank (AS) officers had last week gone on leave to protest the government giving a quick promotion to an Indian Police Service officer, AB Mathur, without fast-tracking paperwork to ensure that officers like them - who had been in the agency for a long time – would not have to play subordinates.
On Monday, three more officers of AS-rank were reported to have decided to stay away from work.
The seven officers form the second-rung leadership of the agency that is responsible for the intelligence gathering exercise outside India including the hotspots of trouble in the Asian region.
“The departmental promotional committee – (that will decide if the R&AW officers make grade) – will meet within a week, possibly by this weekend,” a senior government functionary told HT.
The officers had approached R&AW chief K C Verma, an IPS officer known for his no-nonsense approach, who is understood to have persuaded Cabinet Secretary KM Chandrasekhar to expedite the meeting of the panel that decides on promotions.
An official at the department of personnel and training — that manages personnel policies of the government —said it was an unspoken rule in the civil service not to have a situation where an officer of the same seniority or higher would be subordinate to anyone junior to them.
“You will be forced to operate under your junior, or batch mate only if the government decides to supersede you,” the official said.
He also pointed that the government’s move to promote one officer, and leave the others in the lurch without meaning to do so, was unusual.
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