New Delhi: Almost two years after he was sent to Rajasthan as chief secretary, superseding six officers who were in the running for the top post, senior IAS officer Sudhansh Pant was suddenly brought back to the Centre last week as secretary in the Ministry of Social Justice and Empowerment.

The tenure of a serving chief secretary being cut short, and they being brought back to the Centre suddenly is a rare occurrence. Before this, in 2014, in Rajasthan again, Rajiv Mehrishi was brought to the Centre and his tenure as CS cut short. Mehrishi was then made the finance secretary.

According to sources in the Rajasthan government, the move to bring Pant back to the Centre came after months of turf wars between him and the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO), following which the Centre finally int

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