IAS officer shunted, MLAs find mouthful too much to digest

A senior IAS officer in Bihar has been punished for making ‘‘derogatory’’ comments against the political establishment a...

A senior IAS officer in Bihar has been punished for making ‘‘derogatory’’ comments against the political establishment and the law and order situation.

On Friday, Saran Commissioner Pancham Lal was transferred out of his post 24 hours after he said that those (politicians) who shouted against communal forces were anti-secular themselves.

Lal had said at the closing function of the Sonepur Mela — Asia’s largest cattle fair — that politicians ‘‘should learn to be true nationals before criticising others’’. ‘‘Politicians who yelled at communal forces over the Gujarat riots were themselves not secular,’’ he was quoted as saying. Minister Ramai Ram and Vishwanath Mohan were present when the officer made these remarks.

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The officer’s comments caused uproar in the Legislative Council with all politicians demanding action against him. Taking offence, Legislative Council chairman Jabir Hussain said: ‘‘I criticised the communal riots that followed the Godhra tragedy. But does that mean I am not a secular?’’

Hussain told the House that Bihar Chief Secretary S.N. Biswas had informed him about the official’s transfer. Hussain said he held a meeting on the issue with the Chief Secretary, Home Commissioner, Secretary (Personnel) and the DGP.

Lal was also quoted as saying that the law and order in the state is broken in connivance with powerful forces and that the police knew in advance about robberies going to be committed. He also allegedly said that if politicians gave 10

per cent of their black money they would be able to solve the severe flood problem in Bihar.

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Education Minister Ramchandra Purbey said that a civil servant had no right to make such comments on a public forum. ‘‘Lal has no Constitutional or moral right to make a statement of this sort,’’ Purbey said.