NEW DELHI: Concerned over a recent government order to involve senior bureaucrats in a cross-country ‘yatra’ to showcase the achievements of the Modi government, Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday demanding immediate recall of the order.
Kharge’s letter refers to an order dated October 18 of the Department of Revenue in the Finance Ministry about the nomination of officers in the ranks of joint secretary, director and deputy secretary to be deployed as ‘rath prabharis’ (special officers) in 765 districts in the country.
Accusing the BJP government of using bureaucrats as campaigners of the party, Kharge said the matter was of great concern not just to the INDIA parties but also to the people at large. “It is no coincidence that the last 9 years correspond to your tenure in office. This is of grave concern for multiple reasons,” Kharge’s letter said.
He also flagged the order as a clear violation of the Central Civil Services Conduct Rules, 1964, which direct that no government servant shall take part in any political activity.
“While it is acceptable for government officers to disseminate information, to make them celebrate and showcase achievements blatantly turns them into political workers of the ruling party. The fact that only ‘achievements’ of the last nine years are being considered gives away the fact that this is a transparently political order in the run-up to the five state elections and the general election in 2024,” he wrote.
“If senior officers are being deputed for marketing activity of the government, the governance of the country will grind to a halt for the next six months.”
Kharge also referred to an order passed by the Ministry of Defence on October 9, directing soldiers on annual leave to spend time promoting government schemes, making them “soldier-ambassadors.”
“The Army Training Command, which should be focused on preparing our jawans to defend the nation, is busy preparing scripts and training manuals on how to promote government schemes. It is of utmost importance in a democracy that the armed forces are kept out of politics. To force our soldiers to become marketing agents of government schemes is a dangerous step towards politicisation of the Armed Forces,” he pointed out.