- The Congress has accused the Modi government of trying to turn its entire machinery into “agents” of the BJP.
- Modi government is trying to ‘turn its entire machinery into agents of BJP’, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge alleged.
- In a letter to PM Modi, Kharge alleged that through its recent “orders”, the Centre had “put the entire government machinery to work as if they are agents of the ruling party”.
- Referring to a separate defence ministry circular, Kharge alleged that the Centre was forcing “our soldiers to become marketing agents of government schemes”
- The Congress president further alleged that if senior officers were deputed for the “marketing activity” of the government, the nation’s governance would grind to a halt for the next six months.
The Congress has accused the Modi government of trying to turn its entire machinery into “agents” of the BJP, referring to a finance ministry circular and an Army headquarters’ order about officials and soldiers showcasing the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government’s welfare programmes.
In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge alleged that through its recent “orders”, the Centre had “put the entire government machinery to work as if they are agents of the ruling party”. “All agencies, institutions, arms, wings, and departments are now officially ‘pracharaks’,” he wrote on social media.
In a letter to Modi, the Congress chief cites a government order deploying officials to showcase the Centre’s achievements & defence ministry circular directing soldiers on leave to promote govt schemes.
He attached his letter to the PM that refers to a finance ministry communication dated 18 October regarding the nomination of officers of the ranks of joint secretary, director and deputy secretary from various central government services, to be deployed as “rath prabharis” (special officers) in each of the 765 districts in the country, covering 2.69 lakh gram panchayats.
The ministry circular, which is doing the rounds of social media, also mentions an internal order of the agriculture secretary regarding “showcasing/celebration of achievements of the last nine years of the Government of India through the ‘Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra’ proposed to be organised across the country for disseminating information, awareness and extending services at the gram panchayat level from 20 November to 25 January 2024”.
Calling the circular, a matter of “grave concern”, Kharge wrote: “It is a clear violation of the Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, 1964, which direct that no government servant shall take part in any political activity.”
Referring to a separate defence ministry circular, Kharge alleged that the Centre was forcing “our soldiers to become marketing agents of government schemes”, terming it a “dangerous step towards politicisation of the Armed Forces”.
The Congress president further alleged that if senior officers were deputed for the “marketing activity” of the government, the nation’s governance would grind to a halt for the next six months ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
Calling for the withdrawal of both orders, Kharge stated that in both cases, of civil servants and soldiers, “it is essential that government machinery is kept out of politics, especially so in the months leading up to an election”.
(With inputs from agencies)
