In a letter to Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, the Bihar Revenue Services Association (BiRSA) has complained about the conduct of Deputy Chief Minister and Minister for Revenue and Land Reforms Vijay Kumar Sinha. The letter dated 24 December 2025 raises serious objections to the language used by the minister against the officials of the department during the public hearing.
“Mr. Sinha’s remarks on public platforms over a period of time have not only deeply damaged the dignity of the State Revenue Department, but have also deliberately made the entire service cadre a public laughing stock and outrage,” BiRSA said.
“The scenes that are constantly being aired in the media and on social media clearly show that in the pursuit of popularity and instant applause, administrative norms, principles of natural justice, the spirit of Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution and service rules are being ignored,” BiRSA said in a letter.
“Statements of the type (I will immediately suspend them, I will answer here, in front of the public, let me explain and immediately take action and the decision will fall on the spot) are not in accordance with constitutional democracy. This language does not indicate either administrative discretion or the rule of law,” the association further stated.
A letter signed by BiRSA President Anand Kumar and General Secretary Saurabh Kumar pointed out that the ongoing public hearing in which “instant court martial or mob court” does not represent democratic governance but rather a theatrical style of governance.
Mr. Sinha often forgets that the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government has been in power for the past two decades and in his statements has negated the contributions of previous ministers and heads of departments, giving the impression that all the previous leadership was completely inactive and that there was no improvement in the department, “as if the entire administrative burden of the association for the last 100 years” suddenly fell on his shoulders.
Ministers and elected representatives should be subject to similar public questions about budget, planning and policy failures, BiRSA said.
“If not, why are only finance officials subjected to public humiliation? The culture of justice on the ground has been a hallmark of dictatorial tendencies, not democracy,” BiRSA said.
In the letter, BiRSA praises its own officers, stating that current regional officers have made unprecedented improvements despite limited resources, including “digitisation, online mutation, mutation-free campaign and successful revenue collection campaign”.
He also added that “continuous public humiliation” would not only demoralize the officers but also cripple the effectiveness of the administration.
BiRSA demanded that indecent and punitive statements against tax administrators on public platforms should be stopped immediately and monitoring of the department should only be done through established legal and administrative procedures.
She also called for the creation of a regular and accessible system of communication at the level of the chief secretary and the minister of the department.
“If the ‘public dialogue’ model is to be implemented, it should be applied equally to all departments and elected representatives. There should be a serious discussion at the political level about the historical and structural problems of the Department of Revenue,” BiRSA said.
The association warned that if the situation did not improve soon, it would be forced to consider a “collective boycott of such events and activities”.
Responding to the letter, Mr. Sinha said on Saturday (December 27) that the “Dialogue on Land Reforms and Public Welfare” was launched to make the schemes more transparent, accessible and accountable.
“This initiative is neither to grab headlines nor to make speeches or discourage any official or employee. Its sole purpose is to listen and understand the real problems of the people and ensure their solutions,” he said.
The initiative was conducted with full respect for the constitution, constitutional institutions and judicial boundaries, the minister said.
Earlier this week, the Bihar Judicial Services Association sought an apology from Mr. Sinha for allegedly making inappropriate remarks against the judge.
Published – 27 Dec 2025 19:53 IST
