Transfer tales from North Block

Secretary Rajiv Takru's abrupt transfer from revenue to north-eastern affairs has set tongues wagging in the corridors of power.

The buzz is particularly strong that the transfer came because he was perceived by the new government as being close to Ahmed Patel, Sonia Gandhi's political secretary.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi too wasn't particularly happy about Takru, given the latter's stint in Gujarat, it is said.

But the real reason for Takru's transfer, say sources, was that the government did not want him presiding over the special investigation team set up to unearth black money. The secretary himself told the Hindustan Times following his transfer that he now has "a sense of relief since I will be able to focus on development of the north-east".

A well-known astrologer, it's strange that Takru failed to predict his own transfer, says a wag in North Block.