High-level bureaucratic infighting bringing shame to Civil servants

The frictions, fights and leg-pulling at the top official level have remained active in the past as well. At that time, only a few people who were in service knew about it. That's not the situation today. Through Facebook and social media, such factional fights become folk songs that are known to everyone. Discipline is required for the survival of the service and for the best operations to be efficiently observed. There is a limit to everything. If the discipline is at a suffocating level, it's good to have some reactions coming out against it. What is covered up, even if it is harmful to the people, will go uncorrected. Therefore, it is good for the welfare of the people that certain things come out through such controversies.

At the same time, it is a violation of the discipline of the service to ridicule one's senior officer in public by portraying him in a bad light. There are official ways to lodge complaints and seek solutions. That's the way any officer should seek first. The controversy started when N Prasanth, special secretary of the agriculture department, posted a Facebook post mocking Additional Chief Secretary Jayathilak as a "great person who declares himself to be the next chief secretary". Prashanth also criticised industries director Gopalakrishnan, who was embroiled in a controversy over the formation of a WhatsApp group of officials on religious bases. Jayathilak had handed over a report to the chief minister pointing out that Prashanth had committed serious lapses when he was the CEO of the 'Unnathi project' as special secretary of the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes Department.

In his report to the Chief Minister, Jayatilak pointed out that some important files were missing from the department during Prashant's tenure and that Prashanth had recorded fake attendance without coming to the office properly. Gopalakrishnan, who came to the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes department after Prashanth, had also written a letter asking him to produce the missing files. Prashanth posted on Facebook with the remark that though he does not like the government files having to be discussed in public, he has no other option for the time being. Prashanth says that Jayatilak has ruined the lives of many people and more details will be revealed.

If a proper investigation finds that there was an attempt to create a group of IAS officers based on religion, the government should take it seriously and take action. Groups formed in the name of religion today may become in the name of caste tomorrow. An officer who knows how to do his job well doesn't have to stick to the shadow of a politician. Political leaders will also be impressed with such officials. It is because of their intelligence that the best and the smartest in the higher civil service happen. However, that doesn't mean that everyone has a quality personality. Excessive ambitions and political partisanship often mislead officials. When that happens, it will adversely affect the governance. Therefore, the chief minister should take strong action as soon as possible to put an end to the controversy of top officials.