Congress raises concerns about designation of officials as ‘Rath Prabharis,’ BJP responds

Amit Malviya, the leader of the Bhartiya Janata Party’s (BJP) IT cell, supported the Centre on Sunday by directing bureaucrats to discuss the policies and programmes the government has put in place. According to him, bureaucrats have a responsibility to serve the public in any way that the elected government ‘deems fit.’

 

After Congress questioned the designation of officers in the ranks of joint secretary, director, and deputy secretary as ‘rath prabhari’ and questioned how officers could be employed to engage in ‘political propaganda,’ Malviya made his comments the following day.

 

Congressman Pawan Khera published a finance ministry order from the Department of Revenue dated October 18 on Saturday. Khera criticised the Centre, asking ‘How can civil servants be ordered to do political propaganda for a government going into elections?’

 

The decree mentioned the ‘Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra’ that would be organised nationwide from November 20 to January 25 in order to spread knowledge and awareness. In each of the 765 districts across the nation, policemen would be placed as ‘rath prabhari’ (special officers), according to the statement.

 

Amit Malviya tweeted in response to the criticism of Congress on the subject, asking, ‘Just because five states are holding elections and the general election is seven months away, should we abandon governance?’

 

He claimed that while Gujarat’s Chief Minister, PM Narendra Modi, was in charge, he made sure his bureaucrats were out in the field. JP Nadda, the president of the BJP at the national level, also criticised Congress for its remarks.

 

‘It baffles me to see the Congress Party have an issue with public servants reaching the grassroots to ensure saturation of schemes. If this not the basic tenet of governance, what is? Regarding opposition to a ‘Rath’ it is a fit use of public resources unlike using warships as personal yachts,’ he said in a tweet.

 

According to news agency PTI, Modi has given the government six months to fully implement all of its welfare schemes.

 

To contact and enrol the beneficiaries, the government would start a massive campaign called the Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra across all 2.7 lakh panchayats in the nation.