“It baffles me…” BJP chief Nadda slams Kharge for opposing Centre’s saturation drive

New Delhi [India]: Hitting out at the Congress party after Mallikarjun Kharge wrote a letter to PM Modi opposing the deployment of senior bureaucrats to showcase the achievements and schemes of government, BJP national president JP Nadda on Sunday said that it may be an “alien concept” to the grand old party, but public service delivery is the duty of a government.

This came after Kharge took strong exception to a government order, dated October 18, which 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.

The Congress chief in his letter to the Prime Minister, today, said, “They are to be deployed as Rath Prabharis to showcase the achievements of the last 9 years of Government of India. It is no coincidence that the last nine years correspond to your tenure in office. This is of grave concern for multiple reasons.”

Reacting to it, Nadda said that it is baffling for him to see the Congress party having an issue with public servants reaching the grassroots.

Taking to the social media platform, the BJP chief said, “It maybe an alien concept to the Congress Party, but public service delivery is the duty of a Government. If the Modi Govt wants to ensure saturation of all schemes and ensure all beneficiaries are reached, nobody who has the interest of the poor in his mind can have a problem. But Congress only has an interest in keeping the poor in poverty and hence their opposition to the saturation drive.”

“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 added.

Moreover, Kharge, in his letter, said, “If senior officers of departments are deputed for the marketing activities of the current government, the governance of our country will grind to a halt for the next six months”.

He also referred to an order passed by the Ministry of Defence on October 9, 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,” Kharge alleged in his letter.

Moreover highlighting that the move by central government that the bureaucrats showcasing the achievements of the BJP government is a clear violation of the Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, Kharge said, “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”.

The fact that only “achievements” of the last 9 years are being considered, gives away the fact that this is a transparently political order in the run-up to the five state elections and the general elections of 2024,” stated the letter.

“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,” Kharge alleged in his letter.

“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 to the Constitution. To force our soldiers to become marketing agents of government schemes is a dangerous step towards politicisation of the Armed Forces,” he further said in the letter.

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

“All agencies, institutions, arms, wings, and departments are now officially ‘Pracharaks’,” Kharge alleged in his letter.

“In view of protecting our democracy and our Constitution, it is imperative that the above orders are withdrawn immediately,” the letter added.