MP:Transfer of police dogs to CM's residence sparks row

Already under the radar of the opposition for large scale transfers of government officers and employees, the Kamal Nath government is now caught in a canine controversy following the shifting of 46 dog handlers with their trained dogs on Friday.

Four of the dogs, including one named Duffy from Kamal Nath's hometown Chhindwara, have been shifted to the chief minister’s residence.

Taking a jibe at the move, the BJP said the ruthless government has not spared even dogs in this silly transfer season.

State BJP spokesman Rajneesh Agrawal mocked at the dogs' transfer, saying it reflected an ‘equitable treatment’ of the government with humans and dogs.

State’s finance minister and the chief minister’s close confidante Tarun Bhanot dismissed the opposition’s jibe as their narrow mindedness. “The sniffer dogs have been transferred under a set and routine administrative arrangement," he added.

On Friday, the police department released an order transferring 46 dog handlers of the 23rd Special Armed Force with their trained dogs which include sniffers, narco and tracker dogs. Four sniffer dogs, one each from Bhopal, Satna, Betul and Chhindwara, have been posted at the chief minister’s security squad.

Controversy over mass scale transfers of the government staff from top to bottom has been raging for over a month in Madhya Pradesh with the BJP alleging massive corruption. The chief minister has defended the large scale transfers as a well-thought-out move to shunt BJP-minded officers and employees from key positions so that the government’s welfare schemes and programmes don’t face administrative impediments.

The Congress party has been alleging that a sizeable number of officers and employees with RSS background enjoyed political patronage in the 15- year BJP rule and now they are trying to discredit the Kamalnath government by fomenting resentment among people at the grassroots level.

The allegations flew thick and fast during the summer when unscheduled power cuts across the state sparked massive anger among people against the government. The energy minister shunted out a large number of electricity department personnel whom the government identified as deliberate mischief mongers.