Don’t be robotic, PM advises babus
‘Political intervention must for democracy’
Asserting that “political intervention” is necessary in a democracy, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday made it clear to bureaucrats not to see this as a hindrance to good governance. With a life full of tension one cannot achieve anything, especially when you have to run the nation, he told bureaucrats at a Civil Services Day event. He also advised bureaucrats “not to live like robots” and to spend quality time with their families.
Drawing a distinction between political interference and intervention, he said while the former will “destroy” the system, the latter is “necessary” and “inevitable”.
Addressing civil servants, the PM said the bureaucratic temperament and political interference were often talked about as obstacles in moving the democratic process forward. “In a democracy, bureaucracy and political intervention go hand in hand. This is the speciality of democracy. If we have to run this country, we do not require political interference. But political intervention is necessary and inevitable, otherwise democracy will not work... Political intervention is required in democracy as legislators are elected by the people. Political interference destroys (the system),” Mr Modi said.
He also suggested there was a need to remove words like “obstacle” and “difficulty” from within the bureaucratic system.
Emphasising on accountability and responsibility, Prime Minister Narendra Modi told the bureaucrats that every problem has a solution, which must be found.
“Accountability, Responsibility and Transparency — this ART is essential for good governance,” he said.
Advocating reforms in the bureaucracy, Mr Modi said there was a need to give impetus to reforms and technology as the day was not far when the world will look at mobile governance.
“One department is working, but it is stopped somewhere. You will ask what has happened? It will say that is the bureaucratic way of functioning. Similarly, if some work is stuck somewhere, we say it is political interference,” Mr Modi said.
Remembering Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, the PM said it was natural to recall the contribution of country’s first home minister, who had worked for integration of India. “Today, the need is socio-economic integration. We think of a model that gives importance to integration, that brings the people closer to each other,” he said.
Asking civil servants to value the importance of life, Mr Modi said otherwise it would become uninteresting, just like a page of any file.
“A life full of tension cannot achieve anything, especially when you have to run the nation... You are very good at time management, but do you spend quality time with your family? Please think about this,” he said.
Mr Modi asked bureaucrats to imagine whether or not their life had become “robotic”. “If it has happened, then this impacts the whole government and system. We can’t be robotic. That can’t be our life,” the PM said in an hour-long interaction with the civil servants.
Giving a pep talk to the officers, Mr Modi said none of them should look withered. “File is your 2nd ard-hang (better half). If you do not care about life, it will get stuck in files,” the PM said. “... Why are you sitting like that? I am not going to ask you to do any new work,” Mr Modi said, taking a dig at taut-looking officers, evoking laughter.
You read a lot ... and that’s why you are here. He who does ‘union baji’ in college doesn’t come here. He who is lost in books come here
The counsel said since the verdict, already five complaints were received from victims of dog bites, claiming compensation and there was a possibility of false claims.