LK Jha to PN Haksar & PK Mishra, how PMO became India’s power hub

'It is indeed ironic that what’s now called the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO), the most ‘powerful’ government office that’s often accused of giving India a de facto presidential form of governance, was created by one of the most ‘consultative’ prime ministers-Lal Bahadur Shastri', says former IAS officer Sanjeev Chopra.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Exclusive content, special privileges & more - Subscribe to ThePrint for Special benefits: theprint.in/subscribe/
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Connect with ThePrint
» Subscribe to ThePrint: theprint.in/subscribe/
» Subscribe to our KZbin Channel: bit.ly/3nCMpht
» Like us on Facebook: / theprintindia
» Tweet us on Twitter: / theprintindia
» Follow us on Instagram: / theprintindia
» Find us on LinkedIn : / theprint
» Subscribe to ThePrint on Telegram: t.me/ThePrintIndia
» Find us on Spotify: spoti.fi/2NMVlnB
» Find us on Apple Podcasts: apple.co/3pEOta8

[@avinashkarnick385]

This is a welcome change by The Print, by allowing former civil servants or bureaucrats to air their views about how governance has evolved in India. For too long the news media in India has been obsessed with politicians, who supposedly are elected to office by the citizens. If anything politicians have done much disservice ever since independence to the governance structures and systems of the nation. In the eyes of the average citizen, the backbone and the life blood of the Indian State lies in its civil servants, members of the judiciary and its armed forces. They deserve much greater media space.

[@victor256in]

Only the UPA era fixers who are jobless now

[@AK-yw9qs]

Do you imply that all civil servants are exceptionally efficient at their jobs? If you believe so, there is no need to elect a government; civil officials, not politicians, should rule this country; civil servants are there to advise and implement government programs; and the government should be the master. If any government is heavily/completely reliant on the civil service to devise policies, it is preferable that we return to autocracy.

[@avinashkarnick385]

@@AK-yw9qs Politicians as elected representatives have brought shame on our nation right from 1947. It does not matter to which ideological camp they belong. The State apparatus can only be run by subject matter experts, which is what our civil servants and judiciary are. The State has has to adopt a very realistic and pragmatic approach to deal with everyday problems of citizens. Obscure ideologies cannot meet these requirements. Politicians are basically ideologues

[@AK-yw9qs]

@Avinash Karnick385. I strongly disagree with you. The purpose of public servants in a democracy is to advise and implement government programs. It is the job of politicians to make decisions based on their best knowledge and the advice of experts, as stipulated by the law. My question for you is, what expertise can civil servants bring to the table, and how can you call them the subject experts? They simply drop into civil services out of colleges and training institutions with no practical training or experience, and they have expertise in none.

[@AK-yw9qs]

@@avinashkarnick385 Voters, not politicians, have brought dishonor to our country!Instead of governance, they have always been swayed away from caste, religion, allegiance, and giveaways politics; In a democracy, you get what you deserve; this country has received what its voters have earned, and it will continue to do so.

[@raghavgarg2198]

Good one sir…Keep writing this series.

[@ps-sl2ke]

Great insight on pmo and it's working history sir 🎉🎉🎉❤

[@pranit2784]

Power hub shouldn't be some unelected babu anyways

[@kefifirefly8510]

Great

[@sid7186]

Not watching video but one question if not PMO then who should be power hub... Dumb people

[@raghurampillarisetty7529]

So what ? Cabinet secretary is as much a bureaucrat as Secretary PMO. Much ado about nothing

[@manivannanchokkalingam8251]

kindly compare what has india 🇮🇳 achieved from 1947-2014 & from 2014-24. whether we can provide most indians a better quality of life in the next 5 years. nothing is going to come out of bureaucratic ifs & buts.

[@subhrangsudutta8029]

Few words from a renowned veteran on our pro-history days :-

[@AK-yw9qs]

Yes, in theory, I agree that concentrating power in one place lowers the efficiency of other bodies, but data indicate otherwise; nowadays, the efficiency and delivery of Ministries have improved severalfold, and redtapism has fallen substantially. I do not understand what this individual is whining about.

[@user-wx9te3gz6n]

you need to capture the audience by your speech , not bore them 😞

[@Uneducatedopinion57]

Honestly, who cares? What happened during Shastri’s time? Talk about what is happening today and how the PMO handles the functioning of government I got bored, and I slept off watching this video.

[@okee7]

I reached 4 minutes of your speech and still can't comprehend what or why you bring up Lal Bahadur Shastri or his bureaucrats and why am I listening to such boring stuff.....Poor summary and description not to mention the purpose to bring up this topic in an attempt to glorify the 'babu'