KOPPAL: Higher Education Minister Basavaraj Rayareddi seems to have landed himself in a controversy by saying that officers can be transferred within just nine days if the government wants.
This comes even as the Siddaramaiah government is facing a lot of flak over frequent transfers of IAS and IPS officers.
Rayareddi, who is also in charge of Koppal district, told mediapersons here, “Whether the officials are transferred within nine months or nine days, they have to obey the government’s orders. The government is supreme.”
Among the officers recently transferred are Hassan DC Rohini Sindhuri and Koppal SP Anoop Shetty. They have now challenged their transfer orders before the CAT and got a stay on it.
Shetty was posted in Koppal nine months ago and is said to have done a lot of work in containing the sand and liquor mafia. When reporters questioned the minister about Shetty’s transfer, he said that irrespective of the period of their posting, the officers can be transferred.
On March 12, Shetty was transferred to the Intelligence Wing of the police department in Bengaluru. He moved the CAT challenging his premature transfer. On the same day, the CAT issued an interim stay on the transfer.
BJP leaders termed the minister’s statement as irresponsible. BJP and JD(S) have been accusing the Siddaramaiah government of harassing honest officers by frequently transferring them.
The minister also said political parties are responsible for making voters corrupt with money and liquor.