After Najeeb Jung resigned as Delhi Lt Governor in a surprise move on December 22, there were several names that began to do the rounds for filling up the vacancy. Names of former Home Secretary Anil Baijal, Kiran Bedi and B S Bassi were among the foremost.
President Mukherjee on Wednesday accepted Jung’s resignation. Turns out it’s Baijal whose name has been proposed to replace Jung, whose three-and-a-half-year tenure as LG was marked by frequent run-ins with the AAP government. As per this report, the central government has cleared the proposal.
Before we learn how the new Delhi LG and AAP government’s relationship will be like, here are things that you need to know about Anil Baijal – the man known to keep a low profile and bag high-profile assignments.
- Described in media reports as “a brilliant officer” and “unexceptionable”, 70-year-old Anil Baijal is a 1969 batch IAS officer from the Union Territory cadre. He holds a master’s degrees in Arts from the University of Allahabad and the University of East Anglia.
- He served as home secretary in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government. It was said that Deputy Prime Minister LK Advani controversially handpicked Bajial for the post because he pipped several senior officers to the post. Baijal was removed when the UPA government assumed power in May 2004
- The same year, Baijal was brought in by LK Advani as the vice-chairman of Delhi Development Authority to start a clean-up operation and turn around DDA’s scam-hit image.
- As home secretary, Baijal is said to have got media savvy Kiran Bedi removed from her post as the head of jails. As per this report, this was because Bedi was breaking every clause in the jail manual by her reforms such as holding satsangs and bhajan keertan in the premises
- He has been the chairman and managing director of Indian Airlines and the CEO of government-run Prasar Bharati Corporation in the past, and is credited with introducing DD Bharti during his stint
- Baijal, as additional secretary in the ministry of Information & Broadcasting, is said to have played a key role in delinking news from entertainment. Putting a 26 per cent cap on foreign equity in news channels is said to be his idea
- He retired as secretary in urban development ministry in 2006 and later served on the boards of many corporate entities.
- Baijal was actively involved in the designing and roll-out of Rs 60,000-crore Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) launched by the Manmohan Singh government
- Baijal has served in the executive council of the New Delhi-based Right Wing think-tank Vivekananda International Foundation, founded by Ajit Doval who is currently the national security adviser in the Modi government
- Baijal was in the running for the post of governor of Jammu and Kashmir, but the move fell through after law and order deteriorated in the state following the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani on July 8. The Centre decided against changing the current governor NN Vohra.