IMPHAL: The transfer of Manipur chief secretary Oinam Nabakishore Singh by the N Biren Singh government has taken a serious turn as some local organisations are protesting against the move. The senior IAS officer has, however, applied for voluntary retirement.On Thursday, the government transferred Nabakishore, a 1984-batch IAS batch officer, and posted him as the director general of State Academy of Training and appointed RR Rashmi, a 1983-batch officer, as the new chief secretary.People of Ningthoukhong in Bishnupur district flayed the BJP government for appointing a non-Manipuri to the top administrative post after removing a local man. He is a resident of Ningthoukhong and is the brother-in-law of the newly elected Rajya Sabha MP and state BJP president Kshetrimayum Bhabhananda Singh.Nabakishore was appointed as the chief secretary by the previous Okram Ibobi Singh-led Congress government in 2015. He became the first officer from the majority Meitei community to hold the top post.Peeved with Nabakisore's transfer, women staged a roadblock at Ninghtoukhong Bazaar, disrupting traffic along the Imphal- Churachandpur road for two days. Police, however, dispersed the protesters.On Saturday, three civil bodies of the Uchekon area in Imphal East , too, staged a demonstration against the transfer and demanded rollback of the decision. BJP sources said transfer and posting of senior officials, irrespective of their service tenure and performance by a new government, is quite common in the country.Amid the public protest, Nabakishore on Friday applied for voluntary retirement from service with effect from October 9 this year under Rule 16 (2) of All India Services (death-cum- retirement Benefits) on 'personal grounds'. Nabakishore, who has service period till November, 2019, said he has no grudge against his transfer and appointment of the new chief secretary. He said he was exhausted after three decades of service. Appealing to people to maintain peace and not launch an agitation on the issue, he said his future plans would be chalked out soon.

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