Embarrassed after MLA brings daughter home, Nitish Kumar suspends officer
What's the story
An officer in Bihar was suspended after he issued a pass to a BJP MLA to bring his daughter home from Kota, an incident which left Chief Minister Nitish Kumar embarrassed and invited criticism from the opposition.
The officer who was suspended is Annu Kumar, Sub Divisional Officer of Sadar, Nawada district, who gave a pass to BJP's Anil Singh on April 15.
What happened
Lockdown rules were tweaked for VIP
The country is in midst of a 40-day lockdown where planes, trains, interstate travel are banned. The idea is to stop coronavirus from spreading but for VIPs, the rule was molded.
A day after Kumar gave the pass to Singh, the latter traveled to Kota, Rajasthan, to bring his 17-year-old daughter back home. She was studying for medical exams at the coaching hub.
Aftermath
Kumar was guilty of negligence, hence, was suspended
As the incident sparked outrage, Nitish cracked the whip and suspended Kumar. During the suspension period, Kumar will be attached to Divisional Commissioner, Magadh Division.
The IAS officer was "guilty of negligence in issuing the pass facilitating inter-state travel, which must not have been issued except in extraordinary circumstances during the lockdown period," the government order underlined.
Disciplinary action was also recommended against him.
What he said
Was doing my duty as father: Singh
While the officer faced action, the lawmaker wasn't reprimanded.
In fact, Singh, in an interview with ANI, went on to say he was doing his duty. He said his daughter was lonely since classes had been suspended and others living in PG had also returned to their respective hometowns.
"Others facing similar challenges should follow the same procedure," he said.
Notice
Singh's driver was sent a notice too
Reportedly, Singh's driver was served a show-cause notice for allegedly taking the government-owned car out of state without permission from the secretariat.
But Singh claimed he didn't use the government-owned car to travel, but a private one. He got passes for both vehicles "by a way of abundant caution".
The legislator is the party's chief whip in the Bihar Assembly, hence got a car.