NEW DELHI: Nearly two weeks after imposing stringent rules to banish officers who had served under UPA ministers, the Narendra Modi Government has relaxed the norms to confine them to the appointment of Private Secretaries to ministers.
The fresh missive, dated July 8, said: “Private Secretaries who had worked in the personal staff of any minister for any duration in the last 10 years will not be appointed in the staff of NDA ministers.”
Express reported on June 20 that the government had issued a communiqué to all the ministries saying that “any officer, officials, private persons who earlier worked in the personal staff of a minister in any capacity for any duration will not be appointed in the personal staff of ministers in the present government.”
The directive had led to the transfer of several Private Secretaries and even some lower-level staff,including clerks and assistants in various ministries.
Now in the latest office memorandum, the Department of Personnel and Training indicated the PM,s approval to amend the rule by providing relaxation to Class 3 and Class 4 employees. It said the earlier “Office Memorandum will not be applicable to such lower personal staff in class 3 and class 4 such as drivers, attendants and peons.”
Class 3 generally covers designations such as head clerks, clerks, assistants and police sub-inspectors.
The fresh directive also exempts Private Secretaries to the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.