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Karnataka withdraws order on photography, video recording in government offices
Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said the prohibitory order was not brought to his notice. “Our government has nothing to hide. Regardless of who says what, our government is functioning transparently. So, it was decided not to impose any curbs, and things should continue as they were before,” he said.
The Karnataka government on Saturday withdrew the order banning all kinds of photography and videography inside public offices by private individuals, under the direction of chief minister Basavaraj Bommai, a day after a circular was issued on the matter.
The circular, signed off by the under-secretary of the department of personnel and administrative reforms (DPAR) on Friday morning, prohibited taking photos and videos in its offices without prior permission.
According to the circular, the president of the Karnataka State Government Employees Association had requested to ban photography and videography inside government offices “to avoid the “misuse” of these tools that bring disrepute to the government and also their female colleagues”.
However, following criticism from several quarters, the CM examined the order and instructed that it be revoked.
Accordingly, the order was withdrawn around midnight by the DPAR. The deputy secretary of the DPAR, Anand K, released the withdrawal order in the wee hours of Saturday.
Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai said the prohibitory order was not brought to his notice. “Our government has nothing to hide. Regardless of who says what, our government is functioning transparently. So, it was decided not to impose any curbs, and things should continue as they were before,” he said.
CM Bommai clarified that the order had not come to his attention. However, he said that some women employees had raised objections. “Government employees had been complaining about this for a while, especially since it (uploading photos and videos) had caused problems to women employees. However, our administration is being run transparently, and we have nothing to hide. We want things to continue as before without any restrictions. Therefore, I have taken the decision to rescind the order,” he said.
In his memorandum, the association president had alleged that while it is common for the general public to visit government offices regularly, individuals were entering the premises and taking photographs and videos of the functioning of the offices. They were then being circulated on social media “recklessly”, and there was also a possibility of these being “misused”, which “lower the dignity of government offices.”
Following the association memorandum, the DPAR said that it is illegal to take photos and videos during working hours without prior permission from the authorities. “This applies to all government offices, at district, taluk and village levels, besides in the State capital,” the circular stated.
“The government has given careful consideration to the matter and is of the view that it is necessary to restrict the public from taking photos and videos during office hours of all the departments of the state government,” the order, which has now been withdrawn, said.
