Karnataka: IAS officer transferred without posting, controversy follows
On Monday evening, the Karnataka government unceremoniously transferred a senior IAS officer, Captain Manivannan, sparking outrage on social media and a #BringBackCaptain trend on Twitter. He was shunted amid reports that industrial bodies complained against him for asking them to pay wages to workers during the lockdown. Other reports said his poor handling of the guest workers' problem got him "punished".
Manivannan was the Principal Secretary of both the Labor Department and Information and Public Relations Department. He has lost both his posts to M Maheshwar Rao, currently posted as Principal Secretary, Commerce and Industries Department (Mines and MSME). The 48-year-old was handling the top posts for a year, but hasn't been assigned a new duty yet. Meanwhile, he thanked his well-wishers after the transfer.
Yesterday at 9 PM, I have handed over charge of both depts (Labour DIPR). Thank YOU for the guidance and support! Please extend the same to my successor.
— Captain Manivannan (@mani1972ias) May 12, 2020
I look forward to new challenges. I can be contacted thru the Telegram messenger https://t.co/oLbpn3Q6jb
🙏🏻
His transfer order in the evening came just hours after Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa sent Manivannan to his bastion Shivamogga to contain the spread of coronavirus. From Shivamogga, eight fresh cases of COVID-19 were reported on Sunday alone. Two months ago, just as the first coronavirus cases appeared in Karnataka, the officer started a 'Corona Warriors' group on social media. This group was volunteer-based.
The group was initially made to fight fake news but eventually spread its wings, helping police enforce lockdown and distributed aid to migrant workers. Notably, according to TOI, industries were upset with him as the IAS officer cracked down on them for not paying salaries to workers for the month of April. He had been advocating workers' rights when industries wanted to abolish them.
Last week, Manivannan took to Twitter to announce that Labor Minister A Shivaram Hebbar asked officials to serve notices to employers who hadn't paid salaries for the last month. He also said distressed workers could contact the department and soon, the helpline received over 1,000 complaints. However, Hebbar was forced to take a U-turn after employers pleaded before Yediyurappa. The circular was also canceled.
Some employer unions weren't happy with how Manivannan worked, accusing him of indulging in anti-industry actions. Vice-President of Karnataka Small Scale Industries Ltd (KASSIA) said, "He should have been a facilitator between labor, government, and entrepreneurs — he was not doing that. He is a government representative who was not interested in a mutually acceptable solution." Meanwhile, labor unions hit out at the government.
However, some reports claimed Manivannan wasn't handling the migrant crisis well, as dozens of them were forced to sleep on empty stomachs. "Were they given enough ration and food, why they would complain about not getting any food and insist on returning to their home towns?" an officer at CMO told Bangalore Mirror. Several complaints about mismanagement had been flagged to Yediyurappa since March.
The daily claimed the ousted IAS officer was concentrating more on building his social media image rather than ensuring if food distribution is proper. Once, the IAS officer called a labor camp to inquire about the food's quality, only to hear that they never received anything. He had also allowed elected representatives to have a field day, letting them distribute food packets.
