Bihar CM blames cabinet coordination department for ‘error’

PATNA: Succumbing to the party pressure and opposition attack, chief minister Jitan Ram Manjhi removed his son-in-law Devendra Kumar from the post of his personal assistant (PA) late Wednesday evening. However, Manjhi’s orderly Satyendra Kumar, his ‘bhanja’ (sister’s son) will stay. The CM blamed the cabinet coordination department for not informing him about any such rule which prohibits any minister from appointing any blood relation as personal staff.“I was not aware of the rules. It was the duty of state cabinet coordination department to see it,” Manjhi told reporters on Thursday, adding, “As soon as the matter came to my knowledge, I removed my son-in-law.”
Devendra, however, blamed ‘vested interest’ for sullying his father-in-law’s image. “I resigned due to deliberate controversy created by vested political interest,” he said and added that he had decided to quit when the report flashed on the TV. “I realized that some people were trying to raise a finger at my father-in-law. I talked to him and sent in my resignation,” he said.