The demise of former Union cabinet secretary, BG Deshmukh, drew to a close an era for Pune.
The demise of former Union cabinet secretary, BG Deshmukh, drew to a close an era for Pune. His stalwart figure had become iconic for the various NGOs and social service organisations in the city since he settled in the city after retirement.
His death at the age of 84 years is a major loss for Pune’s activists and bureaucrats alike. An honest bureaucrat himself, Deshmukh is the only IAS officer from Maharashtra who served in the coveted and hugely responsible post of cabinet secretary of the Union government, from September 1986 to March 1989.
He had the distinction of serving as the principal secretary to three prime ministers of the country: Rajiv Gandhi, VP Singh and Chandrashekar.
A true-blue Puneite, Deshmukh was born in his ancestral wada off Laxmi Road. He was an alumni of Fergusson College and a student of economics and political science.
Deshmukh was also municipal commissioner of Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC). It was during his tenure that the satellite imagery of Mumbai was made. After retirement, Deshmukh was at the helm of social organisations and guided activists in the city.
He was chairman of the advocacy body, Public Concern of Governance Trust (PGCT), Community Aid and Sponsorship Programme (CASP), International Longevity Centre (ILC), and Janwani, the NGO wing of the Mahratta Chamber of Commerce, Industries and Agriculture.
Deshmukh had penned several books, including A Cabinet Secretary Thinks Aloud, A Cabinet Secretary Looks Back and Poona to Prime Minister’s Office. In some of these books he provided insights into subjects like the Bofors gun controversy, the coterie that surrounded Rajiv Gandhi, the Union Carbide case, the Mandal Commission report, and India’s role in Sri Lanka.
He also painted fascinating portraits of political leaders like Giani Zail Singh, Rajiv Gandhi, VP Singh and Chandrashekhar.
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