New Delhi : Congress chief Mallikarjun Kharge on Monday appealed to the civil servants and officials to ensure a free and fair counting process without getting intimidated by anyone and without being afraid of anyone. The Congress chief wrote a letter to the bureaucracy of the country on the even of the counting of votes for the Lok Sabha Election 2024.
Mallikharjun Kharge congratulated all the institutions concerned for conducting the mammoth and historic task of conducting the Lok Sabha election. At the same time, he raised concerns over the misuse of agencies and use of coercive mechanisms, calling upon the bureaucracy not to get intimidated by anyone and abide by the Constitution and discharge duties based on merit on the counting day.
Describing the civil servants as the “Steel frame of India”, Kharge recalled that it is the Indian National Congress which established numerous institutions, laid their solid foundation, and devised mechanisms for their independence, on the basis of the Constitution of India. "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 said.
Kharge said that every bureaucrat and officer – from top to bottom of the hierarchy, is expected 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. "It is important to underline the fact that the Congress party, through the Constitution prepared by our inspirational founding members such as Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, Dr B R Ambedkar, Dr Rajendra Prasad, Maulana Azad, Sarojini Naidu and countless others, not only created a framework of strong governance, but also ensured affirmative action through representation of the marginalised in the bureaucracy and the civil society, in our autonomous institutions," he said.
At the same time, the Congress chief said that the last decade has witnessed a systemic pattern to assault, undermine and suppress our autonomous institutions by the ruling party and 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," he said.
Kharge said that in view of brute power, threat, coercive mechanisms and misuse of agencies, the tendency to bow to the powers has become a way for some for their short-term survival. "Even though, in this denigration, India’s Constitution and Democracy have become a casualty. The ‘Will of the People’ is supreme, and people want Indian bureaucracy, to return back 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," he said.
Kharge asserted that the 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," he said.
The Congress chief further said, "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."
