New Delhi: Will Rajinder Khanna become the National Security Advisor (NSA) after Ajit Doval, who is called India's James Bond? Recently, there have been many changes in the National Security Council Secretariat (NSCS). Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister for the third time on 9 June 2014 and the very next day, i.e. on 10 June, Ajit Doval's third term also started. In 2014 and 2019, as soon as Narendra Modi became the Prime Minister, he was appointed to the post of National Security Advisor. But in PM Modi's third term, something new has happened in NSCS. That is, for the first time, an Additional NSA has been appointed. This new post has been given to Rajinder Khanna, who has been promoted from the post of Deputy NSA. Rajinder Khanna has been the head of the country's external intelligence agency RAW.
Major changes in NSCS in Modi 3.0
In fact, the Modi government has reorganized the National Security Council Secretariat in its third term. The changes also include changes in the reporting system. Changes in reporting have taken place at both levels – first within the secretariat and second between the NSA office and the Union ministers. The NSA has become the head of a larger organization than before. Till now he used to have only three deputies, but now there is also an additional NSA. Sanjay Baru, who was the media advisor to former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the National Security Advisory Board of India (NSABI), says that now the main work of the NSA has become advisory, while his role in operational matters has reduced. Baru has said in his article published in the English newspaper The Indian Express that now NSA Doval will deal with advisory bodies like the National Security Advisory Board (NSABI) and the Strategic Policy Group (SPG).
Will Ajit Doval be active?
Baru says that the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) and the chiefs of the three armies, along with the secretaries of some other departments including Defence, Home and Foreign, report to the NSA and all of them also report to their ministers on a daily basis. In such a situation, it remains to be seen how the ministers of these departments view the new changes. Baru says that although the Prime Minister's Principal Advisor handles the civil bureaucracy, but if the NSA shows excessive activism and starts holding meetings of the Cabinet Secretary and other secretaries of the government, then a situation of tug-of-war may arise.
What will be the role of the additional NSA?
According to Sanjay Baru, the post of Additional NSA that has been created will now play the role of a gatekeeper between the NS and six mid-level unit heads. These unit heads are three Deputy NSAs and the chiefs of the three armies. This means that another layer of bureaucracy has been created between the Prime Minister and those who keep a day-to-day watch on national security. The question is, will the NSA still brief the Prime Minister every day or has this responsibility now shifted to the Additional NSA or will both the NSA and the Additional NSA together brief the PM? The second question is how will the heads of RAW and IB and then the CDS have a relationship with the Prime Minister?
Many questions are arising from the new appointment
Baru says that these changes have raised many questions within both the civil and military bureaucracy. There is also speculation whether the Modi government has sent a message to NSA Doval by promoting Rajinder Khanna. Amidst these speculations, it is also being said that it is possible that Ajit Doval will complete his tenure, only after that Rajinder Khanna will be given his place. Doval's third appointment states that he will remain in his post till the tenure of Prime Minister Narendra Modi or till further orders.
