Babudom shuffleconfuses Nitish

Every administrative shuffle sparks confusions among people. Even chief minister Nitish Kumar is not out of its ambit. hen Nitish received a petition and called for the principal secretary of the education department at his janata darbar, he saw Amarjeet Sinha, earlier in the health department in the same capacity for a long time, walking up to him. Nitish spontaneously said he was confused about who was who in the janata darbar. “You are new in the department. Take the advice of others before doing the job,” the chief minister said. A senior IAS officer said: “Shifting to a new department is okay. You just have to get yourself familiar with it and it usually takes two to three months. But the trouble starts when you are given four or five departments to take care of. On an average, 400 routine files have to be signed in every department everyday. The official gets to sign 2,000 files if he is given charge of five departments.” Pointing out that the phenomenon of handling multiple departments was common in the Nitish regime, he said: “That adds to more confusion than transfers.”

Man behind vandalism

The police headquarters is still reeling from the impact of the vandalism in Patna by the supporters of murdered Ranvir Sena chief Brahmeshwar Singh on June 2. Most officers alleged that their hands were tied and they felt humiliated. Some senior officers mentioned the name of a senior BJP leader as the main culprit. “Senior police officers had convinced the supporters of Singh to hold the cremation at Buxar district. They agreed. But when the officers returned to Patna, they were shocked to learn that the supporters had made a U-turn and decided to hold it in Patna. Later, they came to know that a senior BJP leader had met the supporters and convinced them to cremate Singh in Patna,” said a senior IPS officer.

Heat & sound

With the summer on and the temperature remaining high during the working hours, chief minister Nitish Kumar remains keen to know about the existing temperature when absorbed in his work. On Monday, as he went through piles of petitions, he asked officers what the temperature was. An official of the chief minister’s secretariat came out with an i-phone and declared that the mercury had touched 41°C. “You have a good instrument to keep me informed about the temperature,” the chief minister told the official, making other officials present wish that they had i-phones to update Nitish about the temperature.

Job of jobless politicians

Jobless politicians are seen virtually everywhere. Former minister Akhlakh Ahmad was potted at janata darbars of the chief minister and his deputy. He was also seen at RJD chief Lalu Prasad’s home wishing him a long life on the occasion of his 65th birthday. “You should not make any political implications about Modiji or any other leader. They are all old friends,” said Ahmad. “But that is what jobless politicians do. They get in touch with every political party and wait for the next round of elections so that some political party gives them a ticket,” said a seasoned politician, pointing out that Ahmad was seen at the Samata Party and the Congress offices also.