Congress president alleges for Modi Government, all agencies, institutions, arms, wings, and departments of the government are now officially ‘Pracharaks’

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Sunday wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi alleging that the government’s recent orders asking officials to “showcase” the achievements of the last nine years would lead to “politicisation” of the bureaucracy and demanded their withdrawal.

In his letter, Kharge objected to the government order issued on October 18 that, he claimed, stated that senior officers of ranks as high as joint secretary, director and deputy secretary are to be deployed to all 765 districts of India as “Rath Prabharis” to “showcase achievements of the last nine years of Government of India”.

He also referred to another order of the Ministry of Defence on October 9, 2023, directing soldiers on annual leave to spend time in promoting government schemes, making them “soldier-ambassadors”.

“It is no coincidence that the last nine years correspond to your tenure in office. This (order) is of grave concern for multiple reasons,” Kharge said, alleging that senior officers are being deputed for “marketing activity” of the incumbent government.

“It is a clear violation of the Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, 1964, which directs 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.

He said if senior officers of departments are being deputed for “marketing activity” of the current government, the governance of the country will grind to a halt for the next six months.

“For the Modi Government, all agencies, institutions, arms, wings, and departments of the government are now officially ‘Pracharaks’,” he alleged in a post on X.

“In view of protecting our democracy and our Constitution, it is imperative that the orders which would lead to the politicising of Bureaucracy and our Armed Forces must be withdrawn immediately,” Kharge also said in his post while sharing the letter.

“Mallikarjun Kharge-ji, Congress President, has just written to the PM on the blatant politicisation taking place of civil servants and soldiers who must, at all times, be kept independent and non-political,” he said.

He also referred to another order of the Ministry of Defence on October 9, 2023, directing soldiers on annual leave to spend time on 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,” he said.

Kharge, in his letter, said that it is of utmost importance in a democracy that the Armed Forces are kept out of politics.

“The loyalty of every jawan is to the nation and the Constitution. To force our soldiers to become marketing agents of government schemes is a dangerous step towards politicization of the Armed Forces,” he stated.

Furthermore, he said that after many months or years of difficult service to the nation, jawans deserve complete freedom on their annual leave to spend time with their families and restore energy for continued service.

“Their leave must not be hijacked for political purposes,” he asserted.

In both cases, civil servants and soldiers, Kharge said, it is essential that government machinery is kept out of politics, especially in the months leading up to an election.

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