(By Ashish*) Political heartburn can take a heavy toll on career prospects of IAS officers and Bihar appears to be a valid case in point. For, it seems that as long as chief minister Nitish Kumar is in command, he is highly unlikely to relieve any more IAS officers from the state for central deputation, at least not till Narendra Modi heads the country's government. While this may well be permitted under the rules, it definitely violates the conventions and traditions perfected over the years with regard to the movement of IAS officers, who are a creation of the Indian Constitution. Rules stipulate that the Bihar government must grant a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) before any IAS officer can proceed on central deputation, but this is just not happening for more than a year now under Nitish Kumar. Right since May 2015, only one IAS officer from Bihar cadre was relieved to serve as Secretary to the central government, while just seven other IAS officers have been allowed to move to the Centre in more than 12 months. This number, of course, does not include some Bihar cadre IAS officers serving as personal secretaries to Union ministers from the state as their relieving takes place on the request of the minister concerned and is generally not denied. As matters stand today, Nitish Kumar, a declared opponent of Prime Minister Modi, has not relieved even a single Bihar cadre IAS officer for central deputation since August last year. This includes even those officers who have been empanelled as joint secretaries or above at the Centre. Nitish Kumar has been heading a coalition government in the state with help from Rashtriya Janata Dal (RJD) and Congress since November 2015. He had become chief minister in February itself after the exit of Jitan Ram Manjhi. The fact is that less than 20 per cent of Bihar cadre IAS officers are presently on central (or interstate) deputation. The figures speak for themselves. According to the Bihar General Administration Department (GAD) website, the state has a total of 243 IAS officers. (This figure may not include some promotee officers who have been elevated to the IAS from the various state services.) Of these 243 officers, only 42 are on central deputation while five are on deputation to some other states. It means that a whopping number of 196 IAS officers, including nine 2015 batch probationers posted in Delhi, are serving in Bihar itself. The only IAS officers who have joined the central government during the past few months are the nine probationers of 2014 batch, who are temporarily working as assistant secretaries in the NDA government under a new rule that requires them to have a stint at the Centre to understand the working of the Union government. The flow of IAS officers for grant of central deputation from most other states has always been regular. And that's why the strange case of Bihar under Nitish Kumar stands out as extraordinary, if not deliberate. IAS officers generally look upon a stint at the Centre as not only a natural progression in career, but also as a chance to contribute in nation building and policy formulation at the highest level. Natural justice demands that officers from all states should be given a fair chance to work at both levels -- i