Kharge, Nadda face off over govt’s outreach programme

Tribune News Service

Aditi Tandon

New Delhi, October 22

Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and BJP chief JP Nadda on Sunday faced off over the government’s plan to conduct a pan-panchayat level outreach for enrolment of beneficiaries for Central welfare schemes.

In a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi today, Kharge sought recall of directions to post bureaucrats (joint secretaries, directors, deputy secretaries) as ‘rath prabharis’ for the official campaign.

Don’t turn officials into political workers

While it is acceptable for govt officers to disseminate information, to make them ‘celebrate’ and ‘showcase’ achievements blatantly turns them into political workers of the ruling party. —Mallikarjun Kharge, Congress president

Poor to benefit, none should have problem

If the Modi government wants to ensure saturation of all schemes and ensure all beneficiaries are covered. Nobody who has the interest of the poor in his mind can have a problem. —JP Nadda, BJP president

Objecting to the Ministry of Defence order dated October 9 directing soldiers on annual leave to spend time on promoting government schemes, Kharge said, “The loyalty of every jawan is to the nation and to the Constitution. To force our soldiers to become marketing agents of government schemes is a dangerous step towards politicisation of armed forces.”

Commenting on the posting of bureaucrats for Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra planned between November 20 and January 25 for dissemination of government scheme information across 2.7 lakh panchayats, Kharge said the directions violated Central Civil Services (Conduct) Rules, 1964, which expressly bar officials to take part in political activities.

BJP chief JP Nadda, however, hit back, saying no one with the interest of the poor at heart could have objections to government officials getting involved with service delivery.

“It baffles me to see the Congress has an issue with public servants reaching the grassroots. If this is not the basic tenet of governance, what is? Regarding opposition to a ‘rath’ it is a fit use of public resources unlike using warships as personal yachts,” Nadda said. Kharge said in cases of both civil servants and soldiers, it was essential that government machinery was kept out of politics.

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