Jun 03, 2024 10:35 PM IST
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge alleged a ‘systemic pattern to assault, undermine and suppress’ India’s autonomous institutions
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday wrote an open letter to the country’s bureaucracy ahead of the counting of votes for the Lok Sabha elections.
The Congress veteran urged the civil servants not to get ‘intimidated’ by anyone and adhere to the constitution while serving the nation without any fear.
The 81-year-old leader appealed to the bureaucrats not to bow before any ‘unconstitutional’ means and not be afraid of anyone.
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He urged the officers to discharge their duties, based on merit, on this counting day, i.e Tuesday, June 4.
“We owe it to future generations, a vibrant Democracy and a long-lasting Constitution, as penned by the makers of modern India,” he added.
Quoting Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel who called the civil servants as the ‘Steel Frame of India’, Kharge credited the Congress for establishing numerous institutions and laying the solid foundation while devising mechanisms for their independence.
“Independence of the institutions is paramount, for every civil servant takes oath of the Constitution that they ‘will faithfully and conscientiously discharge their duties and will do right to all manner of people in accordance with the Constitution and the law, without fear or favour, affection or ill-will’,” he added.
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‘Systematic pattern to assault our autonomous insitutions’: Kharge
In a veiled jibe at the Narendra Modi government, Kharge wrote,“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,” Kharge said.
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