New Delhi (Agency): A controversy has broken out in the heart of Bihar’s Education Department as it put a ban on the entry of its Minister Chandra Shekhar’s personal secretary, Krishna Nand Yadav, into its offices. This drastic move amplifies an ongoing dispute over the circulation of “negative news” about the department’s operations in the media.
In a letter dated July 1 addressed to Additional Chief Secretary (Education) KK Pathak, Yadav expressed the minister’s frustration over the abundance of negative news about the department making rounds in the press. Yadav conveyed, “Even official letters or departmental communications are being leaked to the media before they reach the Minister’s Cell. This is against the rules about public servants’ functioning. The department must identify such officials and take appropriate disciplinary actions. Lots of negative news in the press have angered the minister, and he now wants ‘Robinhoods’ and ‘actors’ among officers to be punished.”
The Director of Administration in the department, Subodh Kumar Chaudhary, countered with a written response to Yadav, discrediting his letter as “useless” and admonishing him for his unauthorized communication with government officials. Chaudhary wrote, “You sent several letters to officials of the department in the last one week. You have already been told in the past that you are not entitled to communicate directly with government officials. By writing such useless letters you are wasting the time of government officials.”
He further expressed doubts about Yadav’s productivity and capability, insinuating that he is undeserving of his position in the Minister’s Cell and suggested he had even filed a case against the department. Chaudhary revealed that a request for Yadav’s removal has already been sent to the competent authority. Furthermore, he demanded Yadav provide proof to justify the ‘Dr’ honorific preceding his name.
Attempts to reach Chandra Shekhar, a member of the Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD), for comment were futile. Fellow RJD MLA, Bhai Birendra, has urged Chief Minister Nitish Kumar to dismiss Pathak from his role as Education Secretary, accusing his recent behavior of jeopardizing the interests of the Mahagathbandhan government.
Contrarily, Janata Dal (United) minister Shrawan Kumar lauded Pathak as an upright officer. However, Kumar’s party colleague and ST-SC Minister, Ratnesh Sada, labelled Pathak “anti-Dalit.” Pathak, an IAS officer from the 1990 batch, is reputed for his instrumental role in crafting the prohibition laws in 2016 and is deemed to be in close quarters with the Chief Minister.