Senior IAS Officer Manivannan Shunted Out without New Posting for Taking Stiff View on Workers’ Wages during Lockdown Period

Senior IAS officer and principal secretary, labour department, P Manivannan was transferred late Monday, 11 May 2020 evening.

BENGALURU: Senior IAS officer and principal secretary, labour department, P Manivannan was transferred late Monday evening. Manivannan, who was also holding the post of secretary, information department, was relieved without posting. Maheshwar Rao, another IAS officer, was posted in his place.

The announcement comes as a shocker for many COVID volunteers who were working as part of the Corona Warriors team he had established. “We are stopping all this work with immediate effect,” said Misbah, a volunteer. They have also started an online campaign #BringBackManivannan.

Manivannan was dealing with issues related to employers not paying workers during the lockdown, and had received over 700 complaints within 24 hours. He had tweeted that the government would issue notices to the employers. Sources said that ministers are not happy with the officer, which could have led to the transfer.