NEW DELHI, NOVEMBER 2: Principal Secretary Brajesh Mishra is likely to retain the dual charge of National Security Advisor despite defence analyst K Subrahmanyam's efforts to get the posts separated.Although there is a sneaking sympathy in influential sections of the Government for Subrahmanyam's campaign, Mishra is believed to have the backing of Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee in this battle.The controversy is expected to be settled when the Group of Ministers (GOM)submits its report later this month on the Subrahmanyam-led Kargil Review Committee's recommendations for the overhaul of the security establishment.While major reforms in the security setup are on the anvil, this aspect, which has caused much heartburn among those with an eye on the plum job of NSA, is expected to remain unchanged.The primary reason being given for Vajpayee's reluctance to bifurcate the posts, despite the pressure on him from all sides including the RSS, is his implicit confidence in Mishra. Even BJP circles concede that it would be impossible for the PM to find a second confidant if Mishra were to be made to give up one of his posts.At the same time, PMO circles acknowledge that there is sense in many of Subrahmanyam's complaints against the present security setup, including his charge that the National Security Council, formed with such fanfare in 1998, has not met at all since its inception.The NSC, in fact, has been subsumed by the Cabinet Committee on Security Affairs which has the same composition of members. The only exception is the Planning Commission Deputy Chairman and this lacuna has been overcome by inviting him to every meeting of the CCSA.Government sources said that since the CCSA meets at least twice a month, sometimes more often, the need to call a meeting of the NSC was never felt. Of course, this has made the NSC redundant, a point which the Government hopes to rectify in the report being prepared by the GOM.However, the Mishra-Subrahmanyam face-off over the NSA's post has shaken the security establishment and created mistrust and suspicion among the PM's closest aides.The controversy first surfaced when Subrahmanyam suggested bifurcating Mishra's dual charge in the report of the Kargil Committee. His recommendation immediately sparked off friction between Mishra and External Affairs Minister Jaswant Singh with the induction of Arun Singh as the EAM's advisor on security affairs being seen as an attempt to poach on Mishra's turf.The reconstitution of the National Security Advisory Board, whose term expired at around the same time as the Kargil Report was submitted, was delayed largely because of the turf war that ensued. Ironically, although Subrahmanyam was reinducted into the NSAB ultimately, he stirred the pot again last week by lashing out at Mishra to an elite gathering of security experts.The timing of Subrahmanyam's unexpectedly vitriolic outburst was significant because it came at a time when the GOM was finalising its report on the Kargil Committee's recommendations. The security establishment sees it as another attempt to pressurise the PM into stripping Mishra of one of his two posts.
