Government staff bodies back officials in stir

NEW DELHI: The Delhi bureaucracy, which chose to step out and protest the alleged assault on chief secretary Anshu Prakash, has not only managed to stir a nationwide coming together of IAS officials, but different cadres of employees from government, civic agencies and departments.
After the Central IAS Association, letters of support have also started coming in from the IPS, Indian Forest Service, railway officers and other employees’ associations from many states, including Karnataka, Telangana, Punjab, Tripura, Manipur, Andhra Pradesh, Rajasthan, Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Nagaland, Mumbai, Odisha and Madhya Pradesh.
The representatives of Delhi Jal Board Employees Union, Planning and Statistical Officers Union, Patwari and Kanungo Union and several others have also joined the stir.
“Everyone has endorsed that dignity of public servants cannot be compromised,” said an official who was present at Wednesday’s joint meeting of Delhi’s IAS, DANICS, DASS and other associations.
The IPS association tweeted: “We stand with Mr Anshu Prakash at this moment. Officers expect dignity and self-respect to be protected.” The IFS association issued a statement to demand “fair investigation, speedy and strict legal action, and immediate arrest of all perpetrators and conspirators of the crime.”
Showing solidarity with the Delhi bureaucrats, the Telangana officers’ association quoted Sardar Patel from the Constituent Assembly on October 10, 1949: “If you want an efficient all India service, I advise you to allow the services to open their mouth freely. If you are a premiere, it would be your duty to allow your secretary or chief secretary, or other services working under you, to express their opinion without fear or favour.”