Finally, Rajesh Khullar returns as CPS to Haryana CM Nayab Singh Saini

Rajesh Khullar, a retired IAS officer of the 1988 batch, has returned as Chief Principal Secretary (CPS) to Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini. The new appointment order issued today doesn't mention Cabinet rank and status for him. His term will be co-terminus with the tenure of CM, and his appointment will be effective from October 17.

Today, he held a meeting with administrative secretaries on the pre-election announcements by the CM, although his appointment order was yet to be formally issued. He also chaired another meeting with the heads of departments regarding the appointment of 24,000 candidates for Groups C and D posts. The Haryana Staff Selection Commission had declared the results for these candidates on October 17, the day Saini took his oath of office.

Khullar’s appointment has already seen significant drama. On October 18, around 8 pm, he was appointed as the Chief Principal Secretary to the CM, with the rank and status of a Cabinet Minister. The order specified that his term would be co-terminus with the CM’s term.

However, just four hours later — by midnight — Chief Secretary TVSN Prasad issued another order stating: “The orders issued regarding the appointment of the Chief Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister, Haryana, are kept in abeyance until further notice,” referencing that a note that had been received.

A close aide of former CM Manohar Lal Khattar (who is now the Central Minister of Housing and Urban Affairs, and Power), Khullar served in the Union Finance Ministry as a joint secretary for four years, from February 2011 to 2015.

He was then repatriated to Haryana, where he served as Additional Principal Secretary to the CM, and later as Principal Secretary to the CM from November 2015. After five years, he moved to the World Bank as Executive Director in 2020.

In 2023, Khullar returned to the state, and a day after his retirement on August 31, he was appointed Chief Principal Secretary to the CM, replacing former state Chief Secretary DS Dhesi.

In December 2023, Khullar’s wife Dr Sonia Trikha Khullar resigned as Director General of Health Services (DGHS) and was appointed as a member of the HPSC, following a spat between then-Health Minister Anil Vij and Khattar over alleged interference by the CM’s office in the health department.

Even after Nayab Singh Saini replaced Khattar in March this year, Khullar continued to hold the same position, indicating the BJP leadership’s trust in him.