Form of words:
New Delhi: Gujarat has a badly hidden secret which is also a saying in the power corridors of the state – “Without KK the Gujarat government cannot run and the BJP organization cannot run without KK. Uncle”
whereas Uncle refers to surendraBrother Patel, seen as the treasurer of the BJP, a la Murli Deora, KK, is a tribute to Kunyal Kailashanathan, one of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s most trusted civil servants.
There is a perception that Kailashnathan is Modi’s eye and ear in Gujarat, and it only got stronger last week, when the state government issued a notification that the retired IAS officer would continue as the Chief Principal Secretary from September 13. A post specially created for him in 2013 – to newly appointed Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel.
This is the seventh extension of the 1979 batch IAS officer since 2013, when he retired from service as Additional Chief Secretary to the then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi.
It also marks 15 years of Kailashanathan’s tenure in the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) of Gujarat. Since 2006, when he was first posted as CMO, the retired IAS officer has served four chief ministers – Modi, Anandiben Patel, Vijay Rupani and Bhupendra Patel.
Sources say that Modi has so much confidence in the officer that in 2014, when he became PM, he sent all his trusted civil servants – AK Sharma, Hasmukh Adhia, GC Murmu, Sanjay Bhavsar and PK Mishra – to the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO). ) but left back to Gujarat to Kailashanathan.
Read also: Who is BJP leader Harsh Sanghvi, who has 9 portfolios in the new CM cabinet of Gujarat?
most powerful man of gujarat
Kailashanathan has served as Collector of Surat and Surendranagar, and was Municipal Commissioner of Ahmedabad from 1991 to 2001.
Multiple sources also told ThePrint that as CEO of the Gujarat Maritime Board, he oversaw the privatization of ports, bringing him in touch with Gautam Adani, who then recommended him to Modi.
A Malayali by birth but his father was posted in the Department of Posts in Ooty in Tamil Nadu, Kailashanathan graduated from the University of Madras and obtained a master’s degree from the University of Wales.
Sources said that Ahmedabad’s rapid bus transit project was developed during his tenure as principal secretary of the urban development department.
He also said that the two projects played an important role in establishing the IAS officer as a capable civil servant in the eyes of Modi.
One was the water pipeline grid around the Narmada basin, which now caters to 70 per cent of the state’s population, and the other is the state government’s flagship SAUNI scheme, which carries water from the Narmada to water-scarce Saurashtra.
“Before 2000, there was water scarcity in Saurashtra and Kutch region; Drought was a common feature but Modi’s vision and K.K. The implementation of KK has changed the dynamics of the sector,” a former civil servant serving with KK told ThePrint. “The pipeline they laid covers a distance of 361 km and now there is no such scarcity of water in this area.”
Currently, the retired civil servant is overseeing another pet job of Modi, the Sabarmati Ashram Development Project, of which he heads the executive council. The Rs 1,246 crore project, spread over 55 acres of land, is a memorial to Mahatma Gandhi and was announced by the Prime Minister in 2019.
Modi’s Strategist
Apart from his administrative work, KK is also seen as the political strategist of Modi in Gujarat, regularly engaging with the officials of the PMO on issues related to the state.
“His skill is astonishing; his experience, and political outlook is smarter than that of many politicians,” said a second civil servant who worked with KK.
“He not only handles the administration, bureaucracy and policy decisions of the government, he also looks after the political operations, be it the Patidar movement or arranging election campaigns.”
The retired civil servant also said that Kailashnathan helped in image building when Modi moved to Delhi.
For example, Kailashanathan facilitated a meeting between Modi and retired Supreme Court judge, Justice VR Krishna Iyer, who presided. The concerned civil tribunal investigating the 2002 Gujarat riots. After meeting in 2013, Iyer Supported Modi’s bid for the post of Prime Minister.
“His contribution in building Modi’s image cannot be ignored,” the retired official said. “He understands politics and the PM takes his suggestions very seriously. But he talks very little and directly without any introduction.”
Such is his importance in Gujarat that after first-time MLA Bhupendra Patel was sworn in as chief minister, a senior BJP leader and seven-time Lok Sabha MP remarked, “It doesn’t matter who becomes the chief minister of Gujarat. Is; Finally KK is here, he will rule the administration.
(Edited by Arun Prashant)
Read also: Gujarat’s ‘Operation Clean’: No minister from Rupani cabinet in CM Patel’s new government
subscribe our channel youtube And Wire
Why is the news media in crisis and how can you fix it?
India needs independent, unbiased, non-hyphenated and questionable journalism even more as it is facing many crises.
But the news media itself is in trouble. There have been brutal layoffs and pay-cuts. The best of journalism are shrinking, yielding to raw prime-time spectacle.
ThePrint has the best young journalists, columnists and editors to work for it. Smart and thinking people like you will have to pay a price to maintain this quality of journalism. Whether you live in India or abroad, you can Here.