LUCKNOW: The chair will be the measure of respect an MLA would wield while meeting any senior bureaucrat or police officer.
The department of parliamentary affairs in UP has issued a directive to all senior bureaucrats to ensure that the legislators meeting them are offered chairs akin to theirs.
If the officer has a towel on his chair—a usual practice in the bureaucracy—the MLA would have a similar chair. In case an officer is sitting on a sofa, the MLA would also enjoy the same facility.
Principal secretary, parliamentary affairs, JP Singh has issued a govt order addressed to all additional chief secretaries, principal secretaries, DMs, and commissioners to this effect. Official sources in the Vidhan Sabha secretariat said that the development follows incidents of complaints by legislators—from the ruling party and opposition—against senior bureaucrats accusing them of not showing "adequate courtesy."
It was only in Aug last year when the state govt issued the 10th govt order, asking officials to observe the required protocol while dealing with public representatives.
In fact, SP MLA Manoj Pandey had raised the issue in the UP Assembly, saying that while senior officials often show respect, the lower-rung officials fail to do so.
Subsequently, a govt order was then issued asking administrative officials heading all departments to save phone numbers of public representatives on a "priority basis" and ensure that a message is sent, promising a call back if the officers are occupied in an important meeting or are in court.
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