Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): The removal of Deepam Raichura, officer on special duty (OSD) to Deputy Chief Minister Jagdish Devda, after allegations of bribery, has again cast doubt on the conduct of the ministers' personal staff.
According to reports, the Chief Minister's Office was against posting Raichura to the office of the Deputy Chief Minister. But Devda got Raichura posted to his office.
Dileep Raj Dwivedi continues to work in Devda's office even after his retirement, sources said.
A few days ago, a Journalist carried out a sting operation at the residential office of agriculture minister Aidal Singh Kansana over taking bribes for transfers.
Afterwards, the government suspended Kansana's OSD Ashok Kumar Batham, personal assistant Dinesh Bhakoriya, and stenographer Ankit Avdhiya.
Ministers' staffers courted controversies on several occasions. The government removed OSDs of two ministers of the then Congress government in 2020 after their names cropped up in the honeytrap case.
They were Arun Nigam, OSD of Dileep Jaiswal, and Harish Kumar Khare, OSD of Pradhuman Singh Tomar.
The Congress released a video of Brajendra Shrivastava, OSD of the then minister Mahendra Singh Sisodiya, in 2023. In the video, he was making a deal.
Prahlad Singh Patel remained alert about his personal staff. After he became a minister, the government posted LP Pathak as his OSD. As soon as the Lokayukta registered a case against Pathak, Patel removed him.
After the BJP formed a government in 2023, Chief Minister Mohan Yadav decided not to post any controversial officers and staff to the office of ministers.
Appointment of office staff of many ministers lingered for several days because of the decision of the RSS and BJP. The ministers finally got their personal staff appointed according to their choice.
Ministers' staffers remain in limelight
Some officers and employees want to become part of the ministers' personal staff. For them, it does not matter which party rules the state. The officials of some ministers use two or three government vehicles for their families. The corporations foot the bills for running the vehicles.
Virendra Tiwari, personal secretary to minister Uday Pratap Singh, has hogged the limelight these days. Tiwari runs the show in the school education and transport departments, though he faces no allegations. He worked for several ministers earlier.
Jeevan Singh Rajak, OSD of the minister of culture, Dharmendra Singh Lodhi, allegedly put forward his name for an award given by the department.
