State government officials - who often draw flak for inefficiency and corruption - found support from deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav on Sunday .
In a late-afternoon Dil ki Baat post on Facebook, Tejashwi praised IAS and Bihar Administrative Service officials for their honesty and efficiency.
At a time when chief minister Nitish Kumar is vistually bypassing bureaucrats to achieve development targets with the Bihar Vikas Mission, Tejashwi's praise was a welcome surprise for the state government officials.
Tejashwi started his occasional Dil Ki Baat updates last year after taking oath as deputy chief minister.
In Sunday's post, he said although government officials are not directly elected by the people, their role is crucial in a democracy. "The work of officials directly affects the lives of the common masses and also affects the future of elected representatives," he wrote. "Bihar is lucky to have officials known for their honesty, efficiency and dedication and who have been recognised nationally for their ability."
Tejashwi declared that quite frequently charges are hurled at officials "but I have seen they are engaged in making lives of the people better".
"Several officials go beyond their call of duty to get things done for the people," he said.
The post comes days after the RJD foundation day celebrations when several party leaders and workers complained that officials were not listening to them.
RJD chief Lalu Prasad told his party workers that he would speak to the chief minister, and that officials who ignored the request of RJD workers would face the consequence. Lalu did meet Nitish after that but never revealed if he raised the issue.
Several service associations did not take to Lalu's threat well and declared they would stick to the rules and not the demands of RJD workers.
For some, memories of the Lalu-Rabri raj came back to haunt them when RJD leaders and workers ran the state.
So, even though officials welcomed Tejashwi's remarks, not everyone was impressed.
"Praising the nuts will not yield any results! Bureaucracy is to be blamed for all the miseries of Bihar and Bihari's! Rather than praising them, reprimand them for shoddy performance and lack lustre attitude else you know people will reject you!" a user who goes by the name of Sanjeev Kumar Yadav commented on Tejashwi's post.
A senior government official, who did not wish to be named, said: "The remarks of deputy chief minister Tejashwi Yadav are welcome. But a lot more has to be done to boost the morale of officials and the government employees. It is well known that postings and transfers in Bihar take place on the basis of caste and proximity with the powers that be and not efficiency. It has happened for a long time, even before 1990 when the Lalu era began. The present regime is no exception.
He added: "It is the leaders in the ruling party who dictate postings on the basis of caste and Tejashwi will not be able to break this tradition."
Almost on cue, senior IAS officer Narmadeshwar Lal issued a press note on Sunday under the banner of SC/ST officials' association, criticising the government for misleading the Patna High Court on reservation in government promotions.
He said that withdrawing quota was an insult to the Assembly mandate and asked Lalu and Nitish to make their stand clear.
