Bihar minister Madan Sahni threatens to resign, says officials don't listen to him

Bihar’s social welfare minister Madan Sahni said even peons of the departments do not listen to the ministers

Bihar’s social welfare minister Madan Sahni on Thursday threatened to resign from Nitish Kumar-led cabinet while alleging high-handedness by the bureaucracy.

Bihar’s social welfare minister Madan Sahni said he didn't need to be a minister if officials didn't listen to him (Twitter/@AnilSah91587166)

“I’m offering to resign. If officers don’t listen to me, I won’t be able to get people’s work done. And if I cannot, I don’t need this,” Sahni told reporters. The minister said he was also not satisfied with the residence and vehicle provided to him.

“For years, they (ministers) have been facing trouble and torture. They are not allowed to enjoy the perks and powers of ministerial posts. Even peons of the department do not listen to them... I will remain in the party and will follow the path shown by the chief minister, but I will resign from the post of minister,” said Sahni, who is a legislator from chief minister Nitish Kumar’s party, the Janata Dal (United).

Asked if he had shared his grievances with the chief minister, Sahni said, “Why should I do so? He would think I am taking recourse to blackmail.”

Asked when did he plan to hand over his resignation letter to his boss, the minister said, “It (the letter) is being prepared.”

Sources familiar with the matter said the trigger for the minister’s outburst was the transfers and postings in his department in which he was overruled. On June 30, there was a big reshuffle of state government officials across departments.

“Many officers have stayed put in the social welfare department for years and are working in an arbitrary manner. When I sought their removal, the additional chief secretary of the department (Atul Prasad) refused to listen. And it is not only me. Officials do not listen to any minister in Bihar. It is known to all that in the month of June, those officers who have been posted at the same place for three years are transferred. We sent the list of all those officers to the additional chief secretary, but it was ignored,” he alleged.

Sahni also alleged that officers close to chief minister had created a lot of wealth.

Reached for comment, Prasad said he was not aware of the allegations.

This is not the first time a minister has entered into a fight with the top official of his department. A few months back, another minister had requested the government to transfer his department’s top bureaucrat, officials said.

Meanwhile, BJP MLA Gyanendra Singh Gyanu took a swipe at Sahni, alleging that ministers took money in transfers and postings of officials. “We are constantly getting information about this from the officials of the department,” said Gyanu, who had raised a banner of revolt in the party after he was not inducted into the cabinet.

He, however, did not reveal the names of ministers.

Responding to Gyanu’s statement, RJD leader Shakti Yadav said Leader of Opposition Tejashwi Yadav had always highlighted corruption in government. “Today, the BJP leader has made everything clear,” he said.