Meira Kumar greets Congress leader CP Joshi and chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi at the birth anniversary function of Shri Krishna Singh on Tuesday. Picture by Deepak Kumar

Chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi has asked the health department to revoke the suspension of former Patna Medical College and Hospital superintendent Dr Lakhendra Prasad, reflecting the volatility of the decisions taken in his regime.

Confirming the development, principal health secretary Deepak Kumar told The Telegraph that a notification to rollback his suspension, along with a couple of other doctors, would be issued in a day or two following the directive of the chief minister. Kumar did not divulge the date on which Manjhi asked the health department to revoke the order but a source said the directive came after a delegation of doctors met him on October 9.

Dr Prasad was suspended on October 7, two days after Manjhi spotted several anomalies at Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) when he went to meet the stampede survivors on October 5. The suspended doctor had earlier drawn flak from different quarters for arriving to the health hub three-and-a-half hours after the stampede survivors started arriving on October 3, the day the tragedy struck at Gandhi Maidan. But he was put under suspension primarily because of his absence in the hospital during Manjhi’s visit, the source said.

The directive to rollback the suspension of Dr Prasad within a fortnight has prompted discussions in the political and bureaucratic circles on Manjhi’s volatile moves. “If the decision to withdraw the suspension is correct, then the action should not have been taken against the doctor,” said a senior official, expressing his surprise at the timing of the decision.

Just a few days back,Manjhi had kicked off a controversy when he said in Motihari that he would “chop off the hands of doctors who played with the lives of the poor”.

Reacting to the suspension rollback move, senior BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi said: “This government cannot take strong action. It makes compromises with the corrupt and criminals. Nobody should expect bold decisions from the Manjhi government. It is always under pressure because it needs support from the RJD and the Congress for survival.”

Another senior official said the rollback of the PMCH superintendent’s suspension was not the first instance of the chief minister taking a U-turn on a stand; he appears to have made it a habit.

Talking on corruption, Manjhi had once said even his son had to pay Rs 5,000 bribe to rectify his electric bill in Nitish Kumar’s regime. He retracted the next day saying his son paid only Rs 250 and it was not during the Nitish era.

He had appealed Dalits in a meeting to increase their population from 16 per cent to 21 per cent so that they could retain power in Bihar. The next day he said that he had actually appealed to the Daits to remain united.