Bhupendra Yadav was the BJP’s election in-charge during the West Bengal assembly elections. He and his secretarial and other staff devised a powerful strategy, leading to the BJP’s first full-majority government in West Bengal. Subsequently, TMC MLAs in West Bengal rebelled, and later, TMC MPs also rebelled. Whether this massive success in West Bengal was driven by the strategy of Bhupendra Yadav and his secretaries, or whether it was actually the work of PM Modi, Amit Shah, and Shubhendu Adhikari, cannot be directly assessed, as everything was happening simultaneously. However, the BJP’s landslide victory in the West Bengal elections may have led Bhupendra Yadav and his secretaries to believe that the BJP’s victory in the West Bengal elections was solely theirs, and no one else’s. They began to consider themselves masters of their own might. They were not even afraid of PM Modi and Amit Shah, and resorted to arbitrary actions.
The Prime Minister’s Office received periodic information about their activities, even though they were unaware of it. This information was also passed on to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but despite this, the Prime Minister remained adamant that they should reform. Meanwhile, Bhupendra Yadav and his team of secretaries continued to make arbitrary decisions. When things got out of hand, the PMO swung into action at the behest of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Instead of rewarding them after the West Bengal elections, they imposed heavy penalties. Bhupendra Yadav was not directly punished, but by removing four of his secretaries simultaneously, the PMO issued a significant warning to them to stay within their limits. By taking this action, Narendra Modi has issued a significant warning to other ministers in his government, their secretaries, and their assistants to stay within their limits.
Following the controversial issue of granting mining permissions to private companies in the Aravalli Hills, Modi government minister Bhupendra Yadav is once again facing scrutiny. Alarmed by the NEET paper leak, the Minister of State for Agriculture receiving a ₹9.9 million subsidy for his own farm, and the theft of Ram Temple donations, the Modi government has taken action against all personal staff, including three personal secretaries, from Union Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav’s team. The central government has removed the personal secretary and two additional private secretaries from the Ministry of Forest and Climate Change and initiated a detailed investigation. These three secretarial officers were key members of Environment Minister Bhupendra Yadav’s team. With these, Bhupendra Yadav’s three personal secretaries, four additional private secretaries, and all other such appointed employees have been dismissed so far.
According to reports, the widespread irregularities in the Union Environment Minister’s office were brought directly to the attention of the Prime Minister’s Office, leading to the dismissal of the minister’s additional private secretary, Siddharth Yadav. The sudden removal of four individuals from Bhupendra Yadav’s office has raised significant questions. The matter is now being monitored by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s office. Siddharth Yadav joined Bhupendra Yadav’s team as Additional Private Secretary from July 1, 2024. Prior to Siddharth Yadav, Bhupendra Yadav’s Private Secretary Amar Singh, Additional Private Secretary Shailesh Kumar Singh, and another, Ayush Saran, were also removed on similar charges. All of these individuals were key aides of Minister Bhupendra Yadav. The last three of these individuals have been associated with Bhupendra Yadav’s office since his last tenure as Minister of Labor and Employment.
Sources say that these employees, who were part of Bhupendra Yadav’s team, had gained significant decision-making power. While in office, they took actions that were considered excessive interference in government operations. However, Minister Bhupendra Yadav has not yet commented on this reshuffle. But it is believed that these individuals tried to circumvent the rules and carry out actions that could have created significant problems for the government. In such a situation, PM Narendra Modi’s government, already reeling from allegations of Ram Temple offering theft and NEET paper leaks, could not afford to risk further stigmatization in any new case.