Govt. Denies Sacking of Teeka-wearing Govt. Official
Patna: Sept. 7, 2007
 Agriculture Commissioner N. S. Madhawan, while talking to media on Friday, tried to dispel the rumor of the dismissal of Laxman Mishra on the ground of sporting a 'Teeka' on his forehead saying no one could get fired on the basis of one's religious beliefs and the whole news was twisted and given a communal color by certain people with vested interests.
"Even if a recommendation was made to sack a government employee because of his or her religious preferences, it would be rejected without hesitation," Madhawan said.
While officials said Mishra was under scrutiny for various irregularities in the Agriculture department and had been recommended to be relieved from his duties, the report of him being fired on the ground of sporting a teeka was untrue.
 As reported, Mishra was earlier ejected from a departmental meeting by the Agriculture Department special secretary C. K. Anil for wearing a teeka in the office.
Home Secretary Afzal Amanullah also denied the sacking of Mishra on religious grounds but stopped short of admitting the man in the middle of the controversy was in fact suspended from the department.
Meanwhile, other employees of the department have come out openly in support of Mishra saying if his suspension was true, a statewide stir would be launched that would disrupt the normal functioning of the department.
On Friday, dozens of government employees shouted anti-Anil slogans and sported teeka on their foreheads in a symbolic gesture of protest.
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