VIJAYAWADA: Considering an article published in a vernacular newspaper — that accused Collectors of two districts of “walking into a honey trap” and misbehaving with women — as a deliberate attack on the institution of Collectors, the state government on Saturday decided to take legal action against the publication.
A legal notice was served on the newspaper by public prosecutor K Srinivas Reddy, and legal notices were issued to the management of the daily on behalf of the Collectors of the 13 districts of the state. Earlier, the Collectors of the 13 districts decided to take legal recourse as the article was a “deliberate attack” on the Institution of Collectors.
“The Institution of Collectors in AP had become a role model in the country, and Collectors play a pivotal role in delivery of welfare schemes to the people without any corruption,” the collectors opined.
The “defamatory” article is a scathing attack on the respected official branch of the Executive Bureaucracy in India, which strives for the rule of law and implements welfare programmes to alleviate the sufferings of the needy, they felt, and added that they had given up the temptations of other walks of life to dedicate themselves to the betterment of the country.
‘Report aimed at bringing a slur on civil service system’
“Officials posted as Collectors are highly meritorious, and have given up temptations of other walks of life and dedicated themselves to the betterment of the country. They compete with the best brains in the country and are selected under a very meticulous system of selection, and the defamatory article is a classic example of trying to encroach upon their independence and threaten the institution’s reputation,” the Collectors felt.
“The article is nothing but calumny, vilification, disparagement muck-raking, scandal-mongering, denigration, smear campaign, malediction, libel, slander, aspersions against Collectors to suit vested political alignments,” they said.
Maintaining that the institution of Collectors in AP is perceived by people as institution of God, thanks to the legacy left by their seniors, the Collectors, who after being in service for 8 to 12 years, have come to a conclusion that the perception of the institution of Collector in Andhra Pradesh is far superior than in any other state.
“Collectors are perceived as the protector, justice provider, enabler and adjudicator to the poor. As individuals, Collectors come and go but the institution will remain,” they felt, and said that when someone levels baseless allegations, defensive tendencies of keeping quiet and ignoring should not cross their mind.
Quoting Mahatma Gandhi, who said, “Silence becomes cowardice when the occasion demands speaking the whole truth and acting accordingly,” the Collectors felt it is their endeavour to protect the institution of the civil services.
“The report was aimed at bringing a slur on the very institution of Collectors. Collectors have played a pivotal role in holding the country together in times of natural calamities like floods, cyclones and major fires or road accidents, bringing respite to people. The institution of Collectors has always been looked upon with utmost respect right from the days of Independence, and the report is slanderous and intended to run a mud-slinging campaign against Collectors who work under trying conditions not only to take the government schemes to people but also to carry forward the administration with dispassionate attachment to the public, upholding the sublime principles of egalitarianism, secularism and humanitarianism,” they said.
The report, in one stroke, brought down the image of the institution of Collectors, which always enjoyed the support of the public for its selfless service, they said, and added that a media house has to indulge in Goebbels campaign to please its political bosses.” The report has caused untold misery to families of the Collectors,” they opined.
“The report is loaded with content that is highly reprehensible written in gross violation of the principles of journalism with mala fide intention,” they said. In the legal notice, the public prosecutor demanded an unconditional apology by the management within seven days, or his clients would take appropriate steps as per the law without any further notice.