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New Delhi: In a Monday afternoon meeting sometime last year, Union Home Minister Amit Shah asked a civil servant working on a technical project about its progress.

The official enthusiastically spelt out what all he had done, and told Shah that he would love to show him the progress soon, whenever he has the time.

Pat came the reply. “Why ‘soon’? Let’s do it tomorrow… I have all the time in the world,” Shah said, according to officials present at the meeting.

What followed was sheer panic: The official was not yet ready with the project and had not expected such a prompt response from the home minister.

Officials say this anecdote best sums up Amit Shah’s tenure so far as home minister. IAS and IPS officers are now more regular and more careful about reading up their files, and keeping themselves updated with facts.

Unlike the past, when civil servants wanted to be close to the home minister, they now prefer to maintain a distance. It’s not because Shah has shouted at them or humiliated them — not at all. But the officials say many of them are unnerved by his “eerie gaze, stony eyes and dead face”.

“The way he looks at you while you are giving a presentation is enough to get you nervous. Sitting in his chair — leaning towards his left, his face downwards, eyes up and left hand on the chin. That is his trademark,” an official told ThePrint.

Shah has emerged as the most powerful man in Narendra Modi’s second government, the go-to man for all major decisions, and one who heads several groups of ministers (GoMs). As a result, his one-on-one interactions with civil servants have not only increased, but are the most talked-about in New Delhi’s corridors of power.

ThePrint spoke to a number of senior civil servants to find out how they perceive Shah, and what their personal experience of working with him has been like.

Also read: Amit Shah’s performance as minister will now determine the success of Modi-Shah power pair

The ‘dead stare’

The key reason civil servants get nervous in front of Shah is his “dead stare”.

“He, most definitely, is intimidating,” an official said. “If you are not well-versed with facts, or have proper answers to his questions, he will give you the stare, which is chilling enough to make you shudder.”

A second official concurred. “He will sit on his chair and look at you with cold eyes, without blinking. It is an eerie gaze. At that point, you know that he is not very pleased and you need to pull up your socks,” this official said, adding that there is no scope for “fooling around” as he goes directly to facts, and if one is not prepared, he simply walks away.

“He has excellent knowledge of how the police department works. As a youth leader, he has visited all these police stations and worked with people on the ground, so he is not disconnected from the ground, like other ministers or senior bureaucrats. This is why it is hard to fool him,” another official said.

Also read: Amit Shah repenting BJP speeches in Delhi election shouldn’t be taken as a course correction

Great eye for detail

Before any presentation or meeting, civil servants are now reading files carefully, as they never know which question could be thrown at them.

“He has a great eye for detail and often asks penetrating questions,” an official said. “Sometimes senior bureaucrats, who are often disconnected from the ground, draw a blank and are taken aback by his basic questions, and that is what scares them the most. You never know what he will ask.”

Once, in a meeting, an official gave a presentation which ran into 50 slides. Shah sat in his signature pose looking at them. As the official started explaining, Shah cut him short and said “next”. When the officer skipped to the next slide, even before he could start explaining, Shah said, “next”.

“He was in that pose, only his lips moving. He made the official flip 25-26 slides like that. On one slide, the official did not stop… may be he wanted to skip that one. But Shah told him ‘go back, now tell me about this’. It made the official stutter,” another official said.

One cannot throw “random concepts at him and get away”, said yet another official. “If you are saying something, you have to be utterly sure. If he asks you something and then you are blank, you get that stare everyone dreads.”

This official shared another anecdote. Once, during a presentation, Shah asked a senior civil servant a policy question, which the official did not have a clear answer to. While he was attempting to answer, Shah said: “Aap rehne dein. Jisko facts pata hai, usko bolo aake baat kare (You leave it, tell someone who knows the facts to come and speak to me).”

The official added: “There was a weird silence on the floor. He (Shah) then stood up and walked out.”

Another official said that Shah always insists on the “practical aspects”, and often asks questions on how a policy or step will directly benefit the public.

“Even for the smallest of decisions, Shah wants to know how will it affect the general public… If it will benefit the masses, and how. He also wants to know if there is a possibility of any backlash, any resistance from people, how that move will be in the larger interests of the nation,” this official said. “This is why everyone now comes prepared to answer all sorts of questions at the presentations.”

Also read: A Sachin Tendulkar lesson for Amit Shah that can sharpen his election strategy

Very pushy, a tough taskmaster

According to one official, Shah is a “tough taskmaster and very pushy”.

“For him, if something has to be done, it should be done in the given time and way. He is a tough taskmaster when it comes to deadlines. He never forgets what he has asked for and makes sure that he asks for an update. So, there is no escape,” the official said.

“Shah always tells his bureaucrats that he does not want to know about their achievements or accomplishments. He says he is like a troubleshooter and wants them to tell them their problems, weaknesses and challenges. He always asks, ‘Why is this work stuck? You need my approval, PM’s approval? Tell me and I will do it’,” the official said.

This official added that Shah doesn’t leave any scope for civil servants to slack off.

“He hates the concept of files moving from one place to another, and seeks immediate solutions to problems. If a comment has been sought on something, it has to come instantly,” he said.

Shah, the official said, is one of those rare ministers who are in the ministry until 10 pm.

A source in the home ministry said Shah comes to office four days a week (when Parliament is not in session), and on other days, he operates from the office at his residence. He makes sure that he does not take any work file home.

At home, he just concentrates on his engagements as a BJP leader.

“No work file or bureaucrat comes home. The administrative work is all done at the office in North Block. He is in office till 10 pm and has over 30 engagements in a single day,” the source said. “Every day, a list of his engagements is made, which usually runs into five or six pages. He then goes through the list and cuts it to one page. Even then, it comes to over 30 engagements in a day.”

Another official said Shah never takes “no” for an answer. “Not that anyone has the guts to say no to him,” the officer quipped. “But, he is always encourages his team, pushes them hard to perform better.”

Asked if officials are allowed to question him, the official said: “Who will question him? No one does. But to his credit, he does ask us for our comments on his ideas in an ongoing meeting or presentation, and says that he is open to all kinds of feedback.

“Most times, if an officer has a feedback, he or she writes it down on a paper and passes it on to the Home Secretary, who then mentions if he wishes to.”

Also read: JP Nadda must undo Congressisation of BJP under Amit Shah but shows no fire in the belly

Always available

Shah may be intimidating for most officials, but one thing that almost all of them appreciate is being “available” at all times.

“He is always ready and willing to discuss new concepts. If someone has an idea or a project that he has been working on, Shah is always available to go see it for himself,” an official said, adding that this is precisely the reason why one cannot faff or lie to please him.

“If, in a meeting, he asks an officer what new thing he is doing, and the officer lies about working on something big, Shah will instantly say ‘Mujhe dikhaiye kitna kaam ho gaya (Show me the progress)’. Now if the officer says that he would love to invite Shah when he has the time, he would instantly say, ‘Mere pass time hi time hai. Kal aa jaun?’ (I have all the time in the world. Shall I come tomorrow?),” the official said.

“Where is the scope to lie? You will tell him you are working on something and he would ask you the progress and will be willing to come and see it for himself. Where will you run then? So, open your mouth only when you are certain that you have something to show,” the official added with a laugh.

Also read: Amit Shah loyalists keep fingers crossed as BJP readies for changes under new chief Nadda

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