Battle of supremacy: Anil Goswami sack exposes IAS-IPS faultlines

An enduring battle of supremacy between the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and Indian Police Service (IPS) lobbies, two of the country’s strongest bureaucratic blocs, may have cost former Union home secretary Anil Goswami his job, sources told HT on Thursday.

An enduring battle of supremacy between the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and Indian Police Service (IPS) lobbies, two of the country’s strongest bureaucratic blocs, may have cost former Union home secretary Anil Goswami his job, sources told HT on Thursday.

Home-minister-Rajnath-Singh-with-Anil-Goswami-at-the-launch-of-Tourist-Visa-on-Arrival-Convention-in-New-Delhi--Arun-Sharma-HT-Photo

Goswami was given his marching orders late on Wednesday night following accusations that he tried to stall the arrest of former Congress minister Matang Sinh in the multi-crore Saradha scam case.

“The IPS lobby was deeply hurt and annoyed with the working of the union home ministry (MHA), which decides the IPS promotions and appointments at the centre, under Anil Goswami,” said a senior IPS officer.

“An impression gained ground that for the sake of maintaining supremacy of the IAS lobby, Goswami was curtailing the working space for the IPS officers in key positions and also went slow on their promotions,” the officer added.

The source also said, home minister Rajnath Singh wanted more IPS officers in the ministry to handle crucial positions that dealt with police work.

Sources said Goswami also hived off the home ministry’s internal security department — headed by a special secretary-rank IPS officer — by stripping it off crucial responsibilities like police appointments and managing war against Maoists, the officer added.

“In promotions also the home ministry tried to create a gap of at least two years in promotions of IPS officers and their counterparts in the IAS of the same rank,” said another IPS officer.

HT tried to contact Goswami but he was not available for comment.