New Delhi, Sept 1: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government which was once a strong critic of VIP culture has made a sharp deviation from its common man ideology.
According to a report in a national daily, the AAP government has issued an order for the bureaucrats. According to the report, the govt officials have been told to receive MPs and MLAs and also see them off.
“Officials should show courtesy and consideration to MPs and MLAs. Officials should rise to receive the public representatives and see them off too. Arrangements should be made in advance to receive them in office if a visit is already scheduled,” said the order.
The party built itself on the anti-VIP plank but the latest diktat clearly suggests that the party is abandoning the ideology it once stood for.
Many AAP MLAs had reportedly complained to Arvind Kejriwal and Sisodia that they were not getting due acknowledgement from the officials. Some of them even complained that their phone calls were not being answered by government servants which was ultimately hampering their work performance.
The matter was raised recently at a meeting of the HoDs, in which Mr Sisodia gave standing instructions to his officers to give due respect to the legislators as per protocol. He also directed the officers to give appointments to the MLAs within a reasonable time and try to resolve their issues on a priority.
The list of things that government officials are supposed to do are enlisted here (according to Indian Express report):
• Officials should not ignore telephonic messages left for them by the public representatives (MPs and MLAs).
• Officials should not approach MPs and MLAs for sponsoring individual cases, attempting to bring in political or non-political influence.
• The public representatives should invariably be invited to public functions organised by government officials. Any deviation from the appointment made with an MP or MLA must be promptly explained to him to avoid any possible inconvenience. If a communication, the order adds, is addressed to a minister or secretary, then the same would answer.
• If the minister is unavailable, then the secretary would answer. While responding to MPs and MLAs, the official would see that the communication is legit. Pre-printed or cyclo-styled replies should be avoided.
