Chief Secretary Sumit Mullick was supposed to have taken voluntary retirement in the first week of this month and had also applied for the CIC top post
The New Year's eve rioting in Bhima-Koregaon may well prolong the tenure of Chief Secretary Sumit Mullick (1982 IAS batch) who was due to take up his new assignment as Chief Information Commissioner (CIC). Sources in the government disclosed that Mullick belongs to Schedule Caste (SC) community and replacing him at this juncture might well go against the government. Mullick was supposed to have taken voluntary retirement in the first week of this month and had also applied for the CIC top post.
According to sources in the General Administration Department (GAD), Mullick had asked for voluntary retirement and had been assured of the CIC top post. Mullick is likely to be succeeded by D. K. Jain (1983 IAS batch) who is currently Additional Chief Secretary Finance. Sources disclosed that the changes in the higher echelons of the state bureaucracy were likely to take place around January 15 this month. However, the developments at Bhima-Koregaon and Mullick belonging to the community and the anger in the dalit community is at its peak and shunting him out at this juncture will only add fuel to fire and only make the community go against the government.
Meanwhile, another senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) minister while speaking to newspersons on conditions of anonymity, argued that the unrest in the dalit community is at its peak and it will not be a wise move to replace the Chief Secretary at this juncture. He further added that the tense situation has also further postponed the already much delayed reshuffle of the state cabinet. Sources disclosed that the Maharashtra Swabhiman Paksha (MSP) leader Narayan Rane is likely to be inducted into the state cabinet, but the move is yet again delayed due to the Bhima-Koregaon incident. The senior BJP minister further disclosed that there is a possibility of a dalit legislator being inducted as a minister in the state cabinet in a bid to placate the agitated dalit community in the state.