Lucknow:
An Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer in Uttar Pradesh was scolded and abused at a meeting of senior bureaucrats called by the state's Urban Development Minister Azam Khan yesterday. The former's fault? He tried to explain to the latter why two other officers were not present at the meeting.
The minister was reportedly angry because Principal Secretary Praveer Kumar and the Secretary of the Urban Development Department were missing. When he asked the reason for this, Special Secretary Vishnu Swaroop Mishra tried to tell him that the two had gone for a meeting with the Chief Secretary. "They have gone to meet the Chief Secretary for some work," he told the minister.
Little did the officer know that this would irk the minister and make him lose his cool. "Is the Chief Secretary above the government?," Mr Khan lashed out at Mr Mishra. And he didn't stop at just that. When the officer tried to give further clarification, he shouted at him and said, "Bakwas karte ho...chup baithiye...badtameez kaheen ke (Stop talking non-sense...sit quietly...you ill-mannered fellow)." (
Watch what he said here)
Mr Khan eventually adjourned the meeting. When asked later why he lost his cool and called the officer ill-mannered, the minister justified himself and said he was angry at the increasing indiscipline among the officers. "We had called for a meeting. It was an important meeting. Officers from all over the state had been called. Chief Secretary should have been present. This was a pre-scheduled meeting. We will not tolerate indiscipline of any kind. That's why that meeting was adjourned," he said.