Patna: The state government led by CM Samrat Choudhary on Tuesday reversed a key administrative decision taken by former minister Vijay Kumar Sinha, revoking the suspension of more than 200 revenue employees — the second such move in the past 24 hours, triggering speculation. Sinha, the former deputy CM who held the revenue and land reforms department, had acted against the staffers for violating government discipline and going on strike.Sources said more than 200 revenue employees had been on strike since Feb in support of various demands, ignoring stern warnings from the former minister, which crippled the functioning of the department. Their main demands included an increase in grade pay, transfers to home districts and improvements in the land mutation process.In a significant move, however, the new government overturned the earlier order and reinstated all the striking staff. In a letter to all district collectors, additional secretary of the revenue and land reforms department Mahendra Pal directed them to revoke the suspension of all revenue staff placed under suspension between Feb 11 and April 19.“The revenue staffers have a major role to play in the Census-2027 that has already kick-started from April 17. In the light of this development, a request is made to the district collectors to withdraw the suspension of revenue employees,” Mahendra said in the order.The move triggered political reactions with the opposition viewing it as a sign of differences in approach within the state govt. “The former revenue minister acted against the department staffers for working against the interests of the common men, but the new government revoked their suspension. The development highlights conflicts in the NDA,” RJD spokesperson Shakti Singh Yadav said on Tuesday.Rejecting the charge, BJP spokesperson Manoj Sharma said the decision reflects the CM’s independent approach. “He is the new CM and wants to run the administration with his own vision,” Sharma said, adding the new government was trying to follow the steps of former CM Nitish Kumar.This is the second instance in the past 24 hours of the new government withdrawing a decision taken by Sinha. On Monday, the Samrat government withdrew an order restricting officers and employees under the urban development and housing department from appearing in competitive examinations. Incidentally, Sinha was also in charge of the urban development and housing department.
