Bureaucrats are not allowed to imitate politicians. A senior Bihar IAS officer Mihir Kumar Singh (IAS:1993:BH) failed to understand this dichotomy of our system, and so is paying the price for it. He is under fire as he is facing the allegations that he used his position to promote his late father, a renowned academician and a Padam Sri awardee, Dr Jagdish Prasad Singh, by including 36 books authored by him on a government library list.
The state government decided to purchase books for libraries being set up in 8,053 village panchayat buildings and community halls across Bihar when Mihir was the Additional Chief Secretary of the Panchayati Raj Department between May 2022 and October 2024.
To ensure quality the Panchayati Raj Department formed a committee to select books by renowned authors. The committee is said to have approved around 1600 books, including 36 written by Dr Jagdish Prasad Singh. The list included works of finest Hindi authors from Bihar, like Ramdhari Singh Dinkar, Nagarjun, Ramvriksh Benipuri and Phanishwar Nath Renu as well as the Indian’s first President, Dr Rajendra Prasad.
The Panchayati Raj Minister, Kedar Prasad Gupta, has promised a probe into the matter. “We will investigate the issue and take necessary action if any irregularities are found” he reportedly said.
Not to be left behind, the ruling Janata Dal (United) has also voiced concerns. Its spokesperson Neeraj Kumar remarked, “The government must examine this issue thoroughly. It is unacceptable for anyone in a significant position to misuse their power”.
The IAS officer is now indignant. “The entire list of books was approved by the committee set up for the purpose. There was no reason to reject the committee’s recommendation of my father’s books, who has more than 40 titles to his credit and was awarded the Padma Shri way back in 2013″ Mihir justifies his action.
In the meantime, the Panchayati Raj Department has reportedly halted the book purchase and has directed officials to review the matter.
(BY-Dinesh Kumar)
