Patna: The appointment of Bihar’s rural works minister, Ashok Choudhary, as an assistant professor has been put on hold after the education department identified discrepancies in his academic documents and sought a fresh opinion from the state’s university service commission.
Addressing a press conference on Monday, education minister Sunil Kumar said the department had received a recommendation for Choudhary’s appointment but flagged inconsistencies during a routine departmental review. “Some deficiencies have been found in certain certificates. The matter is being examined thoroughly, and a decision will be taken only after the investigation is complete,” he said.
The case relates to a recruitment process conducted by the Bihar State University Service Commission (BSUSC), which had advertised 280 vacancies for assistant professors in political science. Following the selection process, 274 candidates were recommended to the education department ahead of the assembly elections. However, appointments were later stalled, with officials citing concerns over documentation in one case.
Media reports have pointed to the use of two different names by the minister — “Ashok Kumar” on academic certificates and “Ashok Choudhary” in his election affidavit — as a key reason behind the delay. Officials have not confirmed this publicly but said the discrepancies identified were serious enough to warrant further verification.
Opposition parties have questioned both the delay and the government’s handling of the issue. RJD leader Ejaz Ahmed alleged that the promise of an inquiry was aimed at deflecting attention from larger questions. “When will action be taken against those who awarded the degree in question?” he asked.
Congress spokesperson Asit Nath Tiwari went further, alleging that the minister’s PhD degree was “suspicious” and demanded clarity from the government. He pointed out that despite six vacancies still remaining in political science at Patliputra University, Choudhary’s name did not feature among the 18 candidates who ultimately received appointment letters.
Officials said the education department had sought an additional opinion from the BSUSC and that the process would move forward only after all discrepancies were resolved. Until then, Choudhary’s appointment as an assistant professor will remain on hold.
