The Bihar government has issued a directive stating that government jobs or government contracts will not be given to those who stage violent protests or involve themselves in a criminal act against which charge sheets are filed.
“If anyone is found to be involved in a law and order situation, staging protest, road blockade etc., and in a criminal act against which police file a chargesheet, that can be clearly mentioned in his certificate of conduct and character. These persons should be ready for grave consequences because they will not get government jobs and contracts,” said a State police directive issued on January 30.
The directive was duly approved by Director-General of Police S.K. Singhal and was circulated to the State Home Department and other senior police officers.
Police verification is necessary for government jobs, licence for firearms, passports, etc.
Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) leader Tejashwi Yadav criticised the directive and accused Chief Minister Nitish Kumar of acting like a dictator.
“In a challenge to Hitler and Mussolini, Nitish Kumar says if someone uses his democratic right against government by staging dharna-protest, he will not get a government job, which means neither will jobs be given, nor will protest be allowed. How this hapless chief minister with 40 seats is frightened!” he said in a tweet, attaching the police directive.
Senior Congress leader and party MLC Prem Chandra Mishra, too, criticised the government’s new directive. “The new police directive of the Bihar government is, in fact, an encroachment on the democratic rights of the common citizens of the State. How can a government issue such directives to frighten and stop people from staging protests and dharnas?” he asked.
Left party leaders, too, attacked the State government on the issue.
Recently, the State government had come under sharp criticism for issuing a similar notification that said, “Offensive social media posts against the government, Ministers, MPs, legislators and State officials will be treated as a cybercrime and invite penal action.”
