The journey by a senior Bihar IAS officer on a charter plane from Delhi to Patna has caused a storm in Bihar politics with a battle line drawn between the government and the opposition. It happened because the opposition raised serious questions over it in the Legislative Council. The nature of the discussion and its futility apart, this charter plane incident has brought fame to the officer by generating widespread public interest in knowing who this IAS officer is.
So first let us know this man. He is Nilesh Deore, a 2011 batch IAS officer of the Bihar cadre. He is currently posted as Secretary of Tourism under the Bihar government.
Originally belonging to Maharashtra, Deore is a doctor by profession. He did his MBBS from Terna Medical College and Hospital in Mumbai before joining the IAS in 2011.
This issue of charter plane travel came into sharper focus after RJD MLA Rahul Kumar raised it in the Assembly.
When Rahul Kumar raised the issue of Deore traveling on a charter plane with family, Bihar’s Rural Works Minister Ashok Choudhary took up the cudgels on behalf of the state government to counter the opposition’s allegations. He categorically said that this incident is not new but dates back to July last year and went on to clear the air by saying that at that time, he himself was traveling on the same charter plane with Chief Minister Nitish Kumar. According to him, two events were scheduled during the trip: one government event and the other a private event at JD(U) MP Devesh Chandra Thakur’s residence. The minister clarified that as the plane was returning empty, there was nothing wrong if the officer was traveling on it.
Being an astute politician, Chaudhary played out political cards by linking the matter to Dalits and backward classes in the House.
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