Thursday, May 19 2005 16:45 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Patna: Bihar Governor Buta Singh today (May 19, 2005) came under attack for transferring Siwan district magistrate C K Anil and his Gopalganj counterpart K K Pathak, who had ordered a ban on the entry of two Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) MPs Mohammed Shahabuddin and Sadhu Yadav to the two districts, with the Opposition charging Singh with taking the unfortunate step to appease Laloo Prasad.

''It is highly unfortunate that the two upright IAS officers, who have been striving to end terror of Shahabuddin and Sadhu Yadav, high-profile brother-in-law of RJD president Laloo Prasad, in their respective districts, have been given the transfer orders without any plausible reason,'' Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national vice-president Sushil Kumar Modi told reporters.

Alleging that the transfer of Anil and Pathak was done to appease Railway Minister Laloo Prasad, Modi said that it had confirmed beyond doubt that 'being a powerful partner in the Centre's ruling United Progressive Alliance (UPA), Laloo is controlling the office of the Governor.

He said that the Governor's action signalled 'return of the incompetent and ineffective RJD regime. This is evident from the shifting of Anil and Pathak who had tightened their noose around habitual offenders like Shahabuddin and Sadhu Yadav dubbed as terror in their regions.''

Sharply reacting to the Governor's order, Lok Janshakti Party (LJP) State president Narendra Singh said, ''It has tarnished the image of President's Rule as the two officials were performing extremely well and had checked crime in Siwan and Gopalganj.''

Singh urged the Governor to immediately stay the transfer of the two DMs. The BJP leader Modi said that the party's office-bearers would meet Patna today (May 19, 2005) evening to chalk out a strategy to oppose the transfer of Anil and Pathak.

He also took a serious exception to the appointment of former Bihar Chief Secretary Arun Pathak as advisor to the Governor and urged the Centre to immediately cancel his appointment and post an upright IAS officer in his place.

When contacted, Communist Party of India- Marxist Leninist (CPI-ML)- Liberation State secretary Ramjatan Sharma charged Buta Singh with 'acting under pressure from RJD leader Laloo Prasad' and threatened to launch an agitation seeking cancellation of his order.

The CPI-ML is locked in a prolonged battle of attrition with Shahabuddin in Siwan.