At a time when officials belonging to the Gujarat cadre are getting plum postings in the Narendra Modi administration, resignation of Vijya Laxmi Joshi, a 1979 batch IAS officer of Gujarat cadre, three years ahead of her superannuation may have come as a surprise in the corridors of power.
Mrs. Joshi chose to seek voluntary retirement though after two years, she could have been in the reckoning for the post of Cabinet Secretary as the senior-most after incumbent P.K. Sinha’s superannuation mid-2017.
However, according to sources in New Delhi and Gujarat, Mrs. Joshi’s resignation was expected ever since she was posted as Secretary, Drinking Water and Sanitation, which was reportedly not to her liking.
“She was a strong contender for the post of Secretary, Commerce, because earlier she was there as Additional Secretary and also Special Secretary but the PM overlooked her and posted Rita Teotia, also a Gujarat cadre officer, in the Ministry of Commerce and Industries,” a senior bureaucrat in New Delhi told The Hindu .
“Some bureaucrats even recommended her for the post but the PM turned it down,” the bureaucrat said.
“She decided to call it a day because it became clear to her that she would not get any mainstream posting in the current administration,” a senior IAS officer and friend of the Joshi family said.
Interestingly, her husband G.P. Joshi had also taken voluntary retirement in 2008 when he was Principal Secretary (Expenditure) in the Gujarat government.
Under the Narendra Modi government in Gujarat, Mrs. Joshi held top postings like MD of the Gujarat Urja Vikas Nigam Ltd (GUVNL); Principal Secretary, Energy and Petrochemicals, and MD of the Gujarat Mineral Development Corporation (GMDC) before she proceeded on Central deputation where she was posted as Additional Secretary, Commerce Ministry, while also holding additional charge of CMD, MMTC, a top PSU.
Favouritism chargeDuring her powerful postings in Gujarat, she was accused of favouring a top industrial house having interests in the energy sector.
