IAS officer transferred for praising Jawaharlal Nehru on social media

BHOPAL: An IAS officer who had praised Jawaharlal Nehru in a Facebook post, has been transferred by the Madhya Pradesh government.

Ajay Singh Gangwar who was the Barwani District Collector, was transferred last night as Deputy Secretary in the Secretariat in Bhopal. Gangwar had been promoted to the IAS cadre from the state service in 2005.

"The state government has transferred Barwani Collector Gangwar as Deputy Secretary in the Mantralaya in Bhopal," a state Public Relation Department official said.

In the Facebook post written in Hindi, which has gone viral on other social media platforms, Gangwar has written that "let me know the mistakes that Nehru should not have committed. Is it his mistake that he prevented all of us from becoming Hindu Talibani Rashtra in 1947?"

"Is it his mistake to open IIT, ISRO, BARC, IISB, IIM, BHEL steel plant, dams, thermal power? Is it his mistake that he honoured Sarabhai, Homi Jehangir in place of intellectuals like Asaram and Ramdev?"

According to the government official, the FB post had not gone down well with the top officials as it was in "violation" of the service rules, following which an initial probe was conducted and Gangwar was transferred.

Ever since the Facebook post had gone viral, there was talk that Gangwar could be shunted out of the district. However, his transfer order did not mention anything about his Facebook post on Nehru, the official added.