Amid ‘letter war’ in dept, education minister meets Nitish, Lalu

Senior ministers Bijendra Prasad Yadav and Vijay Kumar Choudhary, who held the education portfolio prior to Chandrashekhar, and ruling JD-U president Rajiv Ranjan alias Lalan Singh were also present at the meeting with the CM.

Locked in a showdown with officials of his department, Bihar’s education minister Chandrashekhar Thursday called on chief minister Nitish Kumar, who advised him to resolve the matter amicably, according to a senior official privy to what transpired at the meeting at the CM’s residence.

Bihar education minister Chandrashekhar (HT FILE)

Senior ministers Bijendra Prasad Yadav and Vijay Kumar Choudhary, who held the education portfolio prior to Chandrashekhar, and ruling JD-U president Rajiv Ranjan alias Lalan Singh were also present at the meeting, said the official, who didn’t want to be named.

“If there is any issue, it could be resolved amicably through talks. The way things have unfolded, it does not look nice. It is all about the government. The two should sit and talk,” the official quoted the CM telling Chandrashekhar, who had also met his party RJD chief Lalu Prasad before the latter left for Delhi in the morning.

On reaching Delhi, Prasad told reporters that he had sent Chandrashekhar to Nitish Kumar. “I called up CM and asked him to see him. There is nothing more,” he said.

Chandrashekhar’s meeting with the two leaders came a day after the education department banned the entry of his personal secretary Krishna Nand Yadav to its offices in response to a letter he had shot off to additional chief secretary (education) K K Pathak, asking him to act against officials who “selectively leak” information about the department to the media.

After meeting the chief minister, Chandrashekhar told reporters he had been called to discuss the progress of the education department, not the “letter war”.

“I am looking into the facts you want to know. Let me review what all is there. The government runs through Constitutional provisions,” he said.

Later, the education minister called on parliamentary affairs minister Vijay Kumar Choudhary in his official chamber and the two held discussions for over an hour. When asked, Choudhary said, “Everything is normal. Don’t worry.”

While friction in the education department between the minister and senior officials has been going on for some time, things got heated with Yadav’s letter to Pathak, a senior IAS officer.

In his letter on Tuesday, Yadav said the minister was displeased with the spread of a lot of negativity about his department through media due to attempts by an individual officer to shine personal “Robinhood” image.

Evidently, the letter, which didn’t name names, was taken as an affront to Pathak, who is known for his outspokenness.

The response from officials was swift and scathing. “Your mindless letters indicate you have been left with no work in the minister’s cell. You unnecessarily waste time of department officers. The competent authority has also been written to withdraw your service and it has been directed that you be not allowed to enter the office physically,” read the reply from director (administration), education department, Subodh Kumar Choudhary.

“The competent authority has been written to remove you. You and your patron, at whose behest you write letters, are requested to first get acquainted with the procedures. Else, writing like this reflects your and your patron’s distorted mindset. It is not possible for the department officers to respond to your letters and a direction has been issued to return your letters. And kindly furnish proof of the doctor title that you use with your name ,” the response added in good measure.

Pathak, who was shifted to the education department a few months ago, was not available for comment.