PATNA: As the Nitish Kumar government in Bihar carried out a major bureaucratic reshuffle, transferring as many as 70 IAS and IPS officers, the Opposition Congress and HAM on Saturday dubbed the move as the ruling JD(U)’s preparations to face early Assembly polls in the state.
The large-scale transfers left many in Bihar’s political circles surprised. A government notification issued on Friday night said 45 IAS officers and 25 IPS officers were transferred from their current positions with immediate effect. As many as 21 of the state’s 38 districts got new district magistrates, and the SPs of several districts were changed.
The move was all the more surprising because the government had transferred 21 IPS officers and seven Bihar Police Service officers just 19 days ago. Sources said even leaders of BJP, the ally of Nitish Kumar’s JD(U), were not aware of the transfers.
With relations between JD(U) and BJP having swiftly slumped in the wake of a string of communal clashes in the state during Ram Navmi last month, the Opposition parties said JD(U) might have started preparing the grounds for facing early polls or even a possible President’s Rule.
“Such massive transfers in quick succession seem abnormal. Ties between JD(U) and BJP have plummeted sharply. The state can face either a mid-term poll or President’s Rule if the two allies snap ties, and Nitish Kumar may be getting ready for such a situation,” said senior Congress leader and MLC Premchandra Mishra. He also said the transfers also indicate the NDA government’s preparations for Assembly polls being held simultaneously with the Lok Sabha polls next year. Bihar’s next Assembly polls are due in October 2020.
Former chief minister and Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) president Jitan Ram Manjhi criticised the government over the bureaucratic reshuffle. “Although transferring officials is the prerogative of the AM and the government, these transfers are clearly different. Officials of certain castes have been posted in districts and key positions in a way that would suit their current political masters,” said Manjhi.
JD(U) dismissed the Opposition parties’ charges. “Attributing such political motives to the transfers reveals the Opposition’s bankruptcy. Officials do not make governments; the state’s people do. Nitish Kumar has full faith in the power of his devoted work for the people,” said JD(U) leader Sanjay Singh.