Even as the election heat intensifies in the state, bureaucrats and ministers have become the subject of controversy with a few of the upright babus not hesitating to take on the law makers.
An immediate case in point relates to the Hassan district election officer and deputy commissioner, MS Rohini Sindhuri, who, unfazed by the district in charge minister, Mr Manju’s position, did not hesitate to take him on allegedly for violating the code of conduct.
Last week, she locked the high-profile minister’s office at the PWD Inspection Bungalow while issuing notice to him seeking to know how he could use a government office for election work, something that was in violation of the model code of conduct.
The election to the 224-member state Assembly are scheduled for 12 May. Earlier, a senior secretary was forced to go on leave after he was allegedly humiliated by a section of the ministers at a cabinet meeting. His fault was he refused to oblige the law makers by giving a favourable opinion for the grant of a few mining leases to selected parties.
This was the same IAS officer who was abused by an MLA a few months ago, again because the bureaucrat did not accede to the law makers’ demand to approve a mining lease in violation of government rules.
This is not all. Another senior officer also went on long leave after facing the ire of her minister. All because she did not yield to the pressure to grant minority status to an educational institution.
In Ms Sindhuri’s case, the fight with the district in charge minister has taken a more serious turn as the latter has complained against her to the chief electoral officer.
While the minister claimed that the bureaucrat was being vindictive and that he was not guilty of the charge,the lady officer remains unperturbed, undaunted. In a recent interview to a newspaper,she had claimed that she had a strong sense of right and wrong and believed in going by the book.
Irked by Ms Sindhuri’s action, the minister has now claimed that she was acting at the behest of the opposition . Incidentally, in February this year,during the Mahamastiabhisekha Mahotsava in Shravanbelagola in her district, the officer had had a run in with the minister.
The prestigious event, attended by over 40 lakh devotees from across India and the world , saw the minister and the officer clash over works for the organisation of the main event and the use of innovative technology for the required scaffolding.
The minster even made an abortive attempt to have her transferred from Hassan but thanks to the intervention of the Chief Electoral Officer, this was put on hold as she was also handling the upgradation of electoral rolls.
In the present case, ,the officer has also accused the minister of granting land records in large numbers in violation of the code of conduct. Earlier the bureaucrat was also forced to approach the Central Administrative Tribunal , if only to continue her fight against arbitrary transfers.
For the record, the officer had earned praise from none other than Prime Minister Narendra Modi for her work in promoting swatch bharat programme in Mandya during her earlier tenure.