Action will be taken if officers ignore calls of MLAs, MLCs: UP govt
Assembly speaker Satish Mahana, meanwhile, said that he has asked MLAs to bring proof of officers ignoring their calls to initiate action.
The Uttar Pradesh government has warned senior officers of “disciplinary action” for ignoring calls from members of the state legislature, an order from the state parliamentary affairs department said, citing at least seven government orders issued in the past four years impressing upon them the importance of communication.
The order, issued by JP Singh, the principal secretary in the parliamentary affairs department, said that the issue was raised in the state assembly creating an “uneasy situation” for the government.
“... despite directives issued by the chief secretary through video conferencing to divisional commissioners/district magistrates it has come to the state government’s notice that different officers are neither taking calls from the members of the state legislature nor are they returning the calls,” the order said.
“Hon’ble members are raising this issue in the House and at the parliamentary monitoring committees and this leads to an uneasy situation for the government which is regrettable,” it said, adding: “The state government will take disciplinary action in case of any complaints now.”
Assembly speaker Satish Mahana, meanwhile, said that he has asked MLAs to bring proof of officers ignoring their calls to initiate action.
“There are complaints from MLAs that the officers refuse to take their calls. This issue has been brought to my notice, and I have asked the MLAs to come with proof. We will act under relevant rules against the officers violating the instructions given in this regard,” Mahana said.
Samajwadi Party leader Pankaj Malik said that despite repeated complaints, the government had failed to take any action.
“There are consistent complaints of officers refusing to take phone calls from the public representatives. The state government’s repeated orders have failed to make any impact, and this indicates that the bureaucracy dominates the functioning of this government,” said Malik.
BJP MLC Vijay Pathak said: “Not taking calls is the breach of privilege of the public representatives. Whenever there are complaints, the state government repeats this order. Chief minister Yogi Adityanath has asked the officers to ensure that the calls of public representatives are taken by them and action is taken on the complaints brought to their notice.”
