NEW DELHI — On the eve of Lok Sabha election results, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday evening wrote an open letter to civil servants and government officers, asking them “to adhere to the Constitution, enact their duties, and serve the nation, without fear, favour and ill-will against anybody,” New Indian Express reported.
“Indian National Congress now urges the entire bureaucracy, to adhere to the Constitution, enact their duties, and serve the nation, without fear, favour and ill-will against anybody. Do not get intimidated by anyone. Do not bow down to any Unconstitutional means. Do not be afraid of anyone and discharge your duties, based on merit, on this counting day. We owe it to future generations, a vibrant Democracy and a long-lasting Constitution, as penned by the makers of modern India,” read Kharge’s letter.
“In this hope that India remains truly Democratic in nature, I extend good wishes to each one of you, and expect that our eternal ideals of the Constitution remain untarnished,” the letter further said.
Saying that the “will of the people is supreme”, Kharge said “people want Indian bureaucracy, to return to the same ‘Steel frame of India’ envisaged by Sardar Patel – which has been Teflon-coated by our strong Constitutional principles, that have stood the test of the time”.
Writing the letter “in the capacity of the Leader of the Opposition (Rajya Sabha) and as President of the Indian National Congress”, Kharge alleged that “the last decade has witnessed a systemic pattern to assault, undermine and suppress our autonomous institutions by the ruling party”.
“India’s Democratic ethos are being consequently damaged. There is a widespread tendency to turn India into a regimental dictatorship. We are increasingly seeing some institutions shedding their independence and brazenly following the diktats of the ruling party. Some have completely adopted their style of communication, their way of functioning, and in some cases even their political rhetoric. It is not their fault. With brute power, threat, coercive mechanisms and misuse of agencies, this tendency to bow to the powers that have become a way for their short-term survival. Even though, in this denigration, India’s Constitution and Democracy have become a casualty,” he said.
The Congress chief also congratulated the Election Commission of India, the Central Armed Forces, police in all states and Union Territories, civil servants, district collectors, volunteers and others involved in conducting the elections.
“In this spirit we expect every bureaucrat and officer – from top to bottom of the hierarchy, to discharge their duties in the spirit of the Constitution, without any coercion, threat, pressure or intimidation either from the ruling party/coalition or from the opposition party/coalition,” he said.
