Mukherjee calls upon civil servants to be instruments of socio-economic transformation

New Delhi, Oct.19 (ANI): President Pranab Mukherjee has called upon civil servants to be instruments of socio-economic transformation.

President Mukherjee said there are few bureaucracies in the world who posses the qualifications, repertoire of skills and talents that Indian bureaucrats possess.

"When civil servants face political pressure, they should be patient and tactful in handling issues within the prescribed legal framework," he said while addressing officers attending Phase-V of mid-career training programme and also officer's trainees of IAS, IPS, IFS and Royal Bhutan Civil Service attending 88th foundation course at Lal Bahadur Shastri National Academy of Administration (LBSNAA), at Mussoorie on Friday.

"At the same time civil servants should understand the compulsion of political leaders who are answerable to their constituents, in wake of the growing development aspirations," he added.

He also advised civil servants to have a vision of their own and contribute towards nation building.

President Mukherjee recalled his first stint as a minister in the 1970s, saying that he had a seasoned and senior IAS officer as his Secretary, whom he once asked if he felt 'embarrassed' taking instructions from a young Minister like him.

He quoted his secretary's reply, "Mr Minister, when I receive instructions from you, I do not look at your face. I look beyond your face, at the vast multitude of people of this country who have chosen you to be here."

The President urged the officers to work towards strengthening of institutions, and stressed that institutions are the building blocks of the democracy and a fine balance, as envisaged in the Constitution, must be maintained.

He also emphasized on the importance of role of women in development and prosperity of society.

He said that women should be encouraged to come forward and their safety and security must be ensured, and urged the nation to reset its moral compass.

Governor of Uttarakhand Aziz Qureshi, Minister of State in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO), V. Narayanasamy, and Secretary, Department of Personnel and Training S.K Sarkar were also present at the occasion.(ANI)

Dear President Mukherjee,Sir,

I appreciate your exhortation to Civil Servants to be instruments of Socio-economic transformation.

However, when they want to do so, they are pulled back by their political masters and harassed by either transfers to god-forsaken places or charges sheets are filed against them.

A recent case in point is Ashok Khemka.

Just because he has been doing his duty honestly, successive governments in Haryana have transferred him 45 times in 20 years, i.e one transfer every six months when the Civil Service code says that a person could remain in his posting for 3 years. And now, just because, he has raked up the land transfers of Robert Vadra, son-in-law of Sonia Gandhi, two charge-sheets have already been filed against him and further as per Khemka further 10 chargesheets will be filed against him on frivolous grounds along with 10 private complaints,".

We are also aware of the way Kiran Bedi was harassed with transfers by your previous boss, Indira Gandhi, just because Kiran Bedi, dared to tow Indira Gandhi's car, which had been illegally parked.

Why then show this hypocrisy?

Yours sincerely,

Radheshyam Sharma

188, Bangur Avenue,

B-Block, Kolkata - 700055

Cell: 9331259878