In a letter addressed to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, the Bihar Revenue Service Association (BiRSA) has complained against the conduct of Deputy Chief Minister, and Revenue and Land Reforms Department Minister Vijay Kumar Sinha. The letter, dated December 24, 2025, raises serious objections over the language used by the the Minister against officers of the department during a public hearing.
“Remarks made by Mr. Sinha on public platforms for some time have not only deeply damaged the dignity of the State’s revenue administration but have also deliberately made an entire service cadre the subject of public ridicule and outrage,” BiRSA stated.
“The scenes that are constantly being broadcast in the media and on social media clearly show that, in the pursuit of popularity and immediate applause, administrative norms, principles of natural justice, the spirit of Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution and service rules are being disregarded,” BiRSA said in the letter.
“Statements like, [I will suspend them right away, answer here, in front of the public, get an explanation and take immediate action, and the decision will be made on the spot], are not in line with a Constitutional democracy. This language is neither indicative of administrative discretion nor the rule of law,” the association further stated.
The letter, signed by BiRSA president Anand Kumar and general secretary Saurabh Kumar, pointed out that the ongoing public hearing in which “an immediate court martial or mob justice” was not representative of democratic administration, but rather a theatrical style of governance.
Mr. Sinha often forget that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government had been in power for past two decades, and in his statements, he negated the contributions of previous Ministers and departmental heads, giving an impression that all previous leadership had been completely inactive, and that no improvements had been made in the department, “as if the entire administrative burden of the past 100 years has suddenly fallen on his shoulders”, the association said.
Ministers and elected representatives should be subjected to similar public questioning on budget, planning and policy failures, BiRSA said.
“If not, then why are only revenue officers being subjected to public humiliation? The culture of on-the-spot justice has been the hallmark of dictatorial tendencies, not democracy,” BiRSA said.
Praising its own officers, BiRSA’s letter stated that the current regional officers had made unprecedented improvements despite limited resources, including in “digitisation, online mutation, dispute-free mutation campaign and successful revenue collection campaign”.
It also added that “continuous public humiliation” would not only demoralise officers but also cripple the effectiveness of the administration.
BiRSA demanded that indecent and punitive statements against revenue officers on public platforms should be stopped immediately, and departmental monitoring should be conducted only through established legal and administrative procedures.
It also called for a regular and accessible system for communication at the level of Principal Secretary and Departmental Minister.
“If the ‘public dialogue’ model is to be implemented, it should be applied equally to all departments and elected representatives. A serious policy-level discussion should be held on the historical and structural problems of the Revenue Department,” BiRSA stated.
The association warned that if the situation was not improved soon, it would be compelled to consider a “collective boycott of such events and activities”.
Reacting to the letter, Mr. Sinha on Saturday (December 27) said that the ‘Land Reforms Public Welfare Dialogue’ had been launched with the objective of making the systems more transparent, accessible and accountable.
“This initiative is neither for grabbing headlines nor for giving speeches or discouraging any officer or employee. Its sole purpose is to listen and understand the real problems of the people and ensure their resolution,” he said.
The initiative was being conducted with complete respect for the Constitution, Constitutional institutions, and judicial boundaries, the Minister said.
Earlier this week, the Bihar Judicial Services Association sought Mr. Sinha’s apology for allegedly making objectionable remarks against a judge.
Published – December 27, 2025 07:53 pm IST
