Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar is learnt to have cancelled the transfer of 200 officers ordered by a senior minister from ally BJP, prompting the latter to declare that there was no point continuing in his post and the BJP to renew its allegation of meddling and disrupting the functioning of ministries managed by the party.

The transfers were conducted on June 30 on the orders of revenue and land reforms minister Ram Surat Rai while the cancellation was notified on July 8. Although the cancellation order follows protocol by mentioning that the move was based on the governor’s advice, no transfer is done without the chief minister vetting it.

Neither order, transfer or cancellation, mentioned any reason.

Sources said the chief minister had been receiving complaints about large-scale irregularities in the transfer and posting of circle, land settlement and land acquisition officers.

Nitish’s decision has further widened the chasm between Bihar’s ruling allies, the JDU and the BJP.

Rai made no bones about his anger and frustration.

“There is no point continuing as a minister if I have no freedom to work. There is no justification in continuing as a minister. I am not a person who has any lust for posts,” he said.

“Ministers have the authority to transfer public servants every June (routine transfers that take place after completion of three years at one place), as per the rules of the government. If he cannot make use of this power, there is no point in going among the public,” Rai added.

BJP ministers in Nitish’s cabinet have often complained that they do not have the freedom to work and all important decisions are taken by the chief minister’s office.

The ministers have often pointed out that they are provided the agenda to be taken up at the cabinet meetings either at very short notice or at the last moment, which hardly leaves any time to study the issues to present suggestions or raise objections.

Many of them have also expressed annoyance at Nitish allegedly placing bureaucrats close to him in BJP-run ministries to keep a tab on activities and overtly and covertly meddle in various issues. The ministers have alleged on several occasions that the officers do not listen to them.

Rai, however, appeared to acknowledge some shortcomings in his transfer decision. He said it was based on the

recommendations of around

80 MLAs of the JDU and the BJP.

“I honoured the recommendations of the legislators in transferring the circle officers. Such a thing is common in politics. If this is wrong, then I am wrong,” he said.

The minister also accepted that some of the officers who had “not even completed two years in their present postings were transferred by mistake”.

At the same time, Rai alleged that the land mafia and corrupt people were trying to defame him and get him removed because he had attempted to curb their activities.

“The truth is that the land mafia controls the revenue and land reforms department. I have been trying to break their stranglehold for the last 20 months. They want to control the transfers and postings of officers. The mafia, corrupt people and middlemen want me dismissed,” Rai said.

“The chief minister has deliberately targeted Rai to belittle our party, that too at a time Prime Minister Narendra Modi is scheduled to visit Patna on July 12,” a senior BJP leader told The Telegraph on the condition of anonymity.