By IANS,
Ranchi : Jharkhand Governor M.O.H. Farook has asked the Shibu Soren government not to effect large-scale transfers and postings of bureaucrats, or top- level appointments at a time when the state is facing political uncertainty.
The governor Wednesday summoned Chief Secretary A.K. Singh and communicated this to him. The chief secretary then wrote a letter to the chief minister’s office (CMO) conveying the governor’s displeasure.
The state government has in the last 15 days transferred eight Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officers and six Indian Police Service (IPS) officers.
Soren Tuesday decided to appoint former chief secretary A.K. Basu as chief information commissioner. The move incurred protests from all quarters with many organisations seeking the governor’s intervention in the matter. Basu was allegedly involved in frauds during his tenure as chief secretary.
The state is in the midst of a political crisis sparked off by Soren’s decision to vote against the Bharatiya Janta Party’s (BJP) cut motions in the Lok Sabha. That decision led the BJP, a junior partner in the ruling coalition, to withdraw legislative support to the ruling Jharkhand Mukti Morcha (JMM).
The governor’s action Wednesday invited sharp reaction from the JMM.
“The Shibu Soren government enjoys majority and such a suggestion from the governor is not good. Transfers and postings come under the jurisdiction of the government which enjoys a majority in the house,” Jharkhand Agriculture Minister Mathura Mahto told reporters.
Last week in New Delhi, the JMM announced that it was willing to support a government led by the BJP.
The JMM said it would share power with the BJP on rotation basis. The BJP has, however, denied any such agreement.
On Wednesday, two BJP observers, Rajnath Singh and Ananth Kumar, submitted a report to party president Nitin Gadkari regarding selection of a chief ministerial candidate.