Exclusive: A Secretary's Quip That Boomeranged

The Secretary-level reshuffle is still settling into the corridors, and if top sources are to be believed, so is a fair bit of ego. Top sources said that between the two phases of the reshuffle, more than a few Secretaries either underestimated or overestimated where they stood, and the fallout has led to some deliciously ironic corridor developments.
The Drama 
 Take the case of the Ministry of Jal Shakti. In the last week of July, when the reshuffle sent the ministry's Additional Secretary packing to the Department of Official Languages, the Secretary couldn't resist a parting jab. "Now, the Additional Secretary has to carry a bulky Hindi dictionary all the time," he quipped at a post-reshuffle meeting. Top sources add that's the kind of line that gets a polite laugh in the room and a longer memory outside it.

Fast forward to the second week of August. Round two of the reshuffle lands, and this time, the joke's on him. The very Secretary who cracked wise found himself posted to Official Languages. And the Additional Secretary, on whom a witty remark was passed on, got elevated to Secretary, superseding the former boss in the process.

Cue the perfect bureaucratic comeback. Sources say the new Secretary walked in slightly late to take charge of his new office, and when junior officers asked about the delay, the new Secretary didn't miss a beat: “I was busy delivering a Hindi dictionary to my former boss”.”