For the first time, a tussle has erupted between the Bihar Government and Governor Rajendra Vishwanath Arlekar, also the Chancellor of the State’s universities, with the latter asking the Education Department to withdraw its order to freeze the bank accounts of two officials of the B.R. Ambedkar Bihar University in Muzaffarpur.
Replying to a letter from the Education Department, Principal Secretary to the Governor, Robert L. Chongthu, sent a letter to the bank, asking to de-freeze the accounts with immediate effect. The Education Department on August 17 had ordered a stop to the payment of salary to two university officials.
Reacting to the issue, former Deputy Chief Minister and Rajya Sabha member, BJP leader Sushil Kumar Modi, said that due to the arbitrary decisions of the Education Department, chaos and uncertainty ranged from primary schools to the level of universities.
“The order to school headmasters to raise money by selling empty mid-day meal bags as junk, and the order to stop the salary of the Vice Chancellor of a university, are the latest examples of arbitrary action by the Education Department. Nitish Kumar should keep his hyperactive bureaucrats under control, so that neither the educational environment deteriorates nor a situation of conflict arises with the Raj Bhavan,” Mr. Modi said.
Two days ago, the Education Department had issued a letter asking its teachers to sell the empty gunny bags used for midday meals. Now, the Education Department has landed in another conflict with the Raj Bhavan. In a letter, Mr. Chongthu said that the department’s decision was beyond its jurisdiction.
Mr. Modi further said the Education Department should not take any steps that weren’t in its jurisdiction.
“The Education Department earlier opposed the initiative of the Chancellor-cum-Governor to start four-year degree courses in universities, and now crossed its limits by taking action to stop the salary of the Vice-Chancellor, Pro-Vice-Chancellor of BRA Bihar University. Why is the hyperactivity of the Education Department not visible in giving the status of State employees to four lakh employed teachers? The Chief Minister should immediately intervene when the decisions of the Education Department are leading to a clash between the government and the Raj Bhavan,” Mr. Modi stressed.
Mr. Chonghtu also pointed out that such unwarranted acts should be avoided in the future.
