As support for them continued to grow from officers’ organisations from across the country, the Capital’s bureaucracy added attending phone calls from, and paying visits to the camp offices of, members of the political executive to their not-to-do lists here on Thursday.
According to sources in the bureaucracy, the only form of communication between them and members of the elected Delhi government would continue to remain written in nature and all meetings, except those which they were bound to attend as per the Transaction of Business Rules governing their conduct such as Cabinet meetings, would not be attended.
Symbolic protest
“There will be no communication over the phone and we will not visit the camp offices of members of the political executive whether of Ministers, including the Chief Minister, or legislators to continue our symbolic protest against the assault on Chief Secretary Anshu Prakash which happened to occur the Chief Minister’s base camp-cum-residence,” said a senior government official.
“If they visit our offices, during work hours, we will treat them with courtesy and respect like any other visitor but will not give into, or comply with, verbal demands or instructions; only written communication will be requested,” the official said further.
Allegedly used to being summoned to meetings “at or extending to odd hours” only to be, allegedly, pressured into “signing paper work” on a routine basis, members of the bureaucracy, according to another government official, would also refrain from being “kept after office hours”.
A source said many government officials, across cadres, had expressed their willingness to share specific instances of mistreatment by members of the political executive and were mulling sharing these “soon”.
Meanwhile, the associations of all IAS, Delhi, Andaman and Nicobar Islands Civil Service (DANICS) and Delhi Administration Subordinate Services (DASS) decided that all government employees would observe a five-minute silence outside their respective offices on all working days at the beginning of lunch time at 1.30 p.m. every day. A majority of officials who participated wore black bands in protest.
Staff safety
“This protest will continue on all working days at 1.30 p.m. in all the Delhi government offices, Jal Board, other affiliated offices till the political executive takes tangible steps to ensure safety and dignity of all government employees,” Manisha Saxena, secretary of IAS Association, said.
The staff working in various departments such as the Revenue Department, Education Department, Transport, DUISIB, DTC observed silence in protest against the alleged assault on Mr. Prakash allegedly by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs at Mr. Kejriwal’s residence earlier this week.
