The tussle between the Government of Nitish Kumar and the bureaucracy in Bihar shows no sign of abating. The Chief Minister refuses to back down. In response, the IAS lobby too has hardened its stand

Such battles are common at the lower level; BDOs, COs and junior level civil servants are usually at loggerheads with thana- level police over petty issues like their jurisdiction and authority. But those are not of the magnitude which is being experienced in Bihar At the senior levels between IAS babus and khaki-clad IPS personnel. This tussle is threatening to snowball into a clash between the two wings of administration.

The tussle started last week with the arrest of a 1987 batch IAS officer Sudhir Kumar, who was serving as chairman of Bihar Staff Selection Commission (BSSC). The former Home Secretary is behind bars and has been suspended from the service. The Special Investigation Team (SIT) of police headed by Patna Senior Superintendent of Police, Manu Maharaaj is investigating the allegations of the leak of papers for the test to appoint clerical grade staff.

Kumar’s arrest infuriated the Bihar Chapter of IAS Officers Association, and in an unprecedented move, about 50 babus marched to Raj Bhavan, formed a human chain and presented a memorandum to the Governor. They decided to wear black badges to resent the arrest of their “honest” colleague. And they vowed not to follow verbal orders of the Ministers and even of the Chief Minister. The Bihar body received the support of its central leadership, which urged the Government to ensure that “innocent” civil servants should not be harassed by the “arbitrary” actions of the police machinery. “We have no faith in the police,” said the Bihar IAS body.

Both the Bihar and national associations of IAS officers demanded that am inquiry into the paper leak should be handed over to an independent agency like the CBI. Rejecting their demand, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar asked, “Is CBI probe commanded by the police or civil servantsIJ”

Several top politicians like lalu Prasad, Rabri Devi and former Chief Minister Jitan Ram Manjhi have repeatedly said that Sudhir Kumar, a Dalit, is an honest officer. But Nitish Kumar has asked the SIT not to be impressed with the honesty certificate given by anybody and do its duty with impartiality.

In a surprise move, Nitish Kumar, who has been accused of siding with the bureaucracy and giving them more preference in the governance than the elected representatives of his own party or alliance and even Ministers, too this strange step. Earlier, such a charge was hurled by the RJD and the Congress, and now by the NDA. And it was not a baseless accusation since Nitish relied more on bureaucrats in administrative matters and ignored his own.

 Nitish Kumar was harsh on the agitation of IAS officials and asked if they were above the law and answerable to none. “No one, except the Rashtrapati, has immunity from the law. The job to investigate a case is entrusted to the police under IPC and CrPC. No authority, not even the judiciary, has right to interfere in the police investigation,” the Chief Minister said, and promised exemplary action on the babus’ agitation after receiving their memorandum. 

Commenting on the agitation, a retired bureaucrat said that the association was more worried over the arrest of some more IAS officers, and not merely the arrest of Sudhir Kumar. Earlier, when top bureaucrat Nagmani was arrested on charges of the murder of his wife in 70s there was hardly any voice of protest. Similarly, when the CBI arrested no less than six senior IAS officers in connection with the fodder scam in mid-90s, the association did not come to protest.

A UP cadre IAS officer and whistleblower, Amitabh Thakur was surprised over the Bihar IAS association’s decision not to take oral orders, which was an admission that the babus have been following verbal orders. Thakur, in a letter to the Department of Personnel and Training, said the Rule 3(3) of the All India Services (Conduct) Rules, 1968, clearly states that all orders by the superiors must be in writing and if oral orders are issued in case of emergencies, they must be reduced in writing as soon as possible. “When the service rules are so clear, why are the Bihar IAS officers raising a hue and cry, insisting to legitimise an illegal and prohibited conductIJ” Thakur asked. 

“This is a disturbing trend,” said retired IAS officer and author AK Biswas, who apprehends that the political patronage may lead to revolt like situation in the uniformed service also. He said that he had experienced such things. During the Sitamarhi riots in 1992, the DM and SP were not even on talking terms. Retired Chief Secretary of Bihar and Jharkhand VS Dubey went to the extent of saying that the IPS officers were suffering from an inferiority complex. Reacting to this remark, a serving IPS officer Arvind Pandey shot back, “Such a thinking shows that he (Dubey) suffers from a superiority complex.”

The public perception may be that men in khaki are more corrupt, but corruption is on the increase even in higher echelons of bureaucracy. Once, TIME magazine had reported, “For most Indians, who have every reason to fear the country’s octopus-armed bureaucracy, the scowling IAS officer sitting at his grand desk is still someone to be approached with trepidation - and, increasingly it seems, with a thick packet of rupees. Still the IAS officer may be losing his godly status.”

It is also not of context to mention the letter written by top bureaucrat NC Saxena in early 1998, when he was Secretary of the Ministry of Rural Development. In his letter to the Bihar Chief Secretary he wrote, “Right from the BDOs to many District Collectors and often some Secretaries, all are busy making money or collecting money for their political masters. Bihar is being treated as a private property by those who are the top, and this culture of using executive power for private gains has become the norm. Many civil servants have become like politicians — the English-speaking politicians: Corrupt, with short term targets, narrow horizons, feudal outlook, empty promises and no action. Corruption at all levels has become a low risk and high reward’ activity.”