Patna: In a massive reshuffle ahead of the upcoming state polls, the Nitish Kumar government in Bihar today transferred around 100 officials from the Indian Administrative Service (IAS) and Indian Police Service (IPS) hours after the Election Commission asked the government to remove some officials with tainted image from their posts.
Of the total officials transferred, 49 are IAS officials and 44 IPS officials, according to a notification issued by the General Administration and Home Department.
Quite interestingly, most of the officials given marching orders now had only recently been transferred after chief minister Nitish Kumar was reinstated in the state saddle, kicking out his predecessor, Jitan Ram Manjhi, from the throne.
The majority of the districts where the transfers were carried out fall under north Bihar which saw a surge of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance during last year’s Lok Sabha elections. The NDA had made a virtual clean sweep in the LS polls, bagging 31 seats out of Bihar’s total 40 LS seats.
The BJP today questioned the large-scale transfers in Bihar ahead of polls. “This is apparently meant to make political gains,” alleged BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi, adding it was carried out under pressure from Lalu Prasad.
The massive reshuffle, said to be the biggest one in a single day, came moments after the Election Commission ordered the state government to immediately remove a group of officials from their posts. They include three district magistrates (administrative heads of the districts), a district superintendent of police and three deputy superintendents of police. The state government has been categorically asked to keep these officials away from all election-related work. ‘
A team of the Election Commission led by Chief Election Commissioner Nasim Zaidi is scheduled to arrive on a two-day visit to Bihar on August 7 to assess the ground situation and discuss poll preparations with state government officials.