Two suspended in Bihar as new minister does not get proper welcome

Lack of proper welcome to a newlyinducted minister in Bihar on Wednesday caused the suspensionof two officials of the department concerned.

BJP leader Janak Ram, who was inducted into the NitishKumar cabinet on Tuesday, had reached the department of minesand geology as per schedule to take charge.

Thronged by supporters, Ram was left mortified to findthere was no director rank official to escort him to hischamber as per tradition and the principal secretary was in ameeting.

Bristling at the unintended slight, Ram, a dalitleader who has formerly represented the Gopalganj Lok Sabhaseat, said he would accept the bouquet from the Class IVemployee standing nearby.

As peon Santosh Yadav did the needful, Ram fondlypatted him on the back and said he considered the lower rankemployee mera bhai (my brother) and vowed to crack down onthe mafia, who I am told this department has to contendwith.

Murmurs about the states notorious afsarshahi(bureaucratic high handedness) kept doing the rounds untilPrincipal Secretary Harjot Kaur arrived, expressed regret tothe minister for the lapse and offered him a bouquet which Ramgladly accepted.

Replying to queries by journalists later, she saidAll this took place because of the failure of the honourableministers personal secretary Rajendra Chauhan and LDC (lowerdivision clerk) Santosh Kumar to inform us about the arrivalschedule. They have hence been suspended and issued a showcause.

She also voiced disapproval of the whispers in thecorridor that absence of senior officials to receive theminister denoted afsarshahi.

It is unthinkable that senior officials will fail togive ministers the respect that is their due. In Bihar this isnot possible, she said.

Ram, who was sitting across the table, his temper bythen cooled, concurred.

We will all work in tandem to ensure that thedepartment functions in the best possible manner. There is noafsarshahi here, he said.