Bizarre: Chhattisgarh railway clerk suspended for refusing to sing duet with General Manager

There are many reasons for a government employee to get suspended. But for this Chhattisgarh railway employee, the reason can only be termed as bizarre.

Anjali Tiwari, a senior clerk, who was hired by the Chhattisgarh Railways under the Cultural Quota, was suspended for refusing to sing a duet with the General Manager.

A circular of the same has been circulated and is also doing the rounds on social media. The circular, dated January 17, speaks of a cultural event that took place a day earlier.

According to the circular, during the final rehearsal, Tiwari had been asked to prepare a few duet songs that she was supposed to sing with the General Manager. “During the programme, when the General Manager expressed his desire to sing one particular song, Tiwari refused under the pretext that she had not come prepared to sing the song,” the circular said.

The circular added, “Being an employee appointed under Cultural Quota, she is not supposed to refuse to perform when instructions in advance were given to her by the undersigned (the divisional railway manager). This shows her casual/irresponsible attitude towards her work. I have taken a serious view of this.”

The circular that has been shared - Rajendra Aklekar: Facebook

Tiwari has been accused of committing ‘gross misconduct’ and ‘failing to maintain absolute devotion towards duty’. “She should be immediately taken up under Discipline and Appeal (DAR),” the circular added.

Furthermore, Tiwari has been debarred from all official cultural programmes of Raipur Division for a six-month period. She can’t even move outside Raipur division to perform in any programme.