Man Fridays, it seems, are becoming a norm in the bureaucracy rather than exceptions. The ruling party’s henchmen are perceived as the opposition’s enemies who are sure to face witch-hunting after a change of guard. Take for example the case of newly appointed chairman and chief executive officer (CEO) of the New Okhla Industrial Development Authority (Noida) Rakesh Bahadur and Sanjeev Saran respectively. Both Rakesh Bahadur and Sanjeev Saran are accused in a scam which was unravelled in 2007 in Noida and involved irregular allocation of plots for construction of five-star hotels.

The scam, which caused the state government a loss of Rs 4,721 crore, took place in 2006 when Mulayam Singh Yadav was the chief minister of Uttar Pradesh. As soon as Mayawati took over the reins of the state in 2007, she suspended Rakesh Bahadur, Sanjeev Saran, Ravindra Nayak and 16 other officers from the UP government. An FIR was also lodged against all these officers.

While the case in still pending in the Supreme Court, a change of guard in the state has worked to the tainted officials’ favour. Bahadur and Saran have been reinstated on the coveted posts. One of the first things Akhilesh Yadav did after taking over as the UP CM was to remove Mohinder Singh, who is considered close to Mayawati, from the post of Noida chairman and CEO. He still awaits a new posting. The Authority remained headless for two months.

It was being speculated in the state’s bureaucratic circles that the newly-elected government was looking for a bureaucrat with an impeccable image, as a chairman and CEO of Noida. Sadly, that didn’t turn out to be the case. The appointments confirm the entrenchment of revenge politics in the state. State’s bureaucratic circle, like the common men, had expectations that the first-time CM, Akhilesh Yadav, would bring about freshness in the state’s politics. However, it seems he is learning the rules of revenge politics fast by rote.