Once bitten, BJP is twice shy in picking ministers' staff

All newly appointed ministers in the Narendra Modi-led government will be told by the BJP leadership to be picky while hiring personal staff.

To avoid a repeat of the infamous Bangaru Laxman type cash for defence deals and cash for asking questions in Parliament expose through sting journalism, a wary BJP top brass is all set to advise its ministers as well as MPs to do a thorough background check of the persons they intend to appoint as their personal staff.

Anticipating Modi baiters to target his government, the RSS, the BJP’s ideological arm, is learnt to have cautioned the political arm on appointment of personal staff by ministers and MPs, sources told Deccan Herald.

The saffron party also warned against moles from opposition parties parking themselves in Union Ministers’ offices to leak information to rival parties or the media on government decisions. Union Ministers and MPs will be told not to entertain “suspicious persons” and to exercise caution while dealing with unknown people.

The BJP is also being careful in not continuing with staff who have worked in the Congress-led dispensation for the past ten years, sources said.

BJP also reportedly instructed the Department of Personnel and Training (DOPT) to keep ready a list of 50 director level officers of the All India Services, who have enough experience working with ministers, to be appointed as Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to the newly inducted ministers.

These hand-picked OSDs will work with the new ministers as an interim arrangement till they find their own men as private secretaries. If the Ministers want they may retain the staff working in outgoing ministers’ offices on temporary basis. But, they would have to be replaced after finding their own men after thorough background checks, sources said.

The cabinet ministers may appoint 15 persons as personal staff while ministers of state may have 13 persons as their staff. The previous NDA government headed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee had to face embarrassment after BJP national president Bangaru Laxman was caught on tape taking money in a stage managed defence deal conducted by Tehelka investigative news organisation.

In another such sting operation, MPs of several parties were caught on camera promising to raise questions in Parliament for  money.