BENGALURU: Legislative Council members have raised a serious complaint against government officials alleging that they routinely ignored phone calls from elected representatives. They warned that such conduct undermines public trust in governance and could amount to a breach of legislators’ constitutional privileges.
In a letter to Chief Secretary Shalini Rajneesh, Council Chairman Basavaraj Horatti said the legislators are often forced to contact officials urgently over public grievances, but several officers either do not answer calls or fail to return them even as a basic courtesy. Legislators said they have repeatedly flagged the issue orally, but the problem persists across departments.
The complaint notes that people from different parts of the state approach their elected representatives seeking redressal of pressing problems.
When legislators try to intervene on their behalf, the lack of response from officials not only frustrates MLCs but also raises serious questions about the functioning of the administrative machinery, the complaint read.
“Public service is the government’s foremost duty. If officials do not respond even to people’s representatives, one can only imagine the plight of ordinary citizens,” the representation says. Such behaviour, Horatti warned, erodes confidence in the administration and may compel them to refer the matter to the Legislature’s Committee on Privileges, as it amounts to denial of the rights accorded to legislators under the Constitution.
Horatti stressed that even when officials are engaged in other urgent duties, they are expected to return calls later as a matter of professional courtesy and accountability. The failure to do so, they said, reflects poorly on governance and responsiveness, he said.
Seeking immediate corrective action, the MLCs urged the Chief Secretary to issue strict directions to officers of all departments to ensure timely and appropriate responses to the public and to elected representatives.