Thiyam Devaraj Singh lost his father to colon cancer on April 5. But instead of taking leave to attend his last rites, the Arunachal Pradesh officer continued his work related to the upcoming Lok Sabha election 2019.
Singh, who hails from Bishnupur in Manipur, is posted at Pasighat in East Siang district as the district information officer and is required to handle all the information technology related services during the polls.
“I decided to stay back as election work is going on in full swing. A lot of the poll duty involves IT-related work and since I am the only person handling these in Pasighat, election work would have suffered if I had gone to Manipur,” Singh said.
He didn’t even tell his colleagues of his bereavement.
“We came to know about the news only on April 7 and conducted a condolence meeting. It was Singh’s own decision not to take leave. Since he is the only trained IT officer, it would not have been possible to conduct the polls smoothly without him,” said Sibo Pasing, the electoral registration officer of the district.
The fifth among six siblings, Singh, who has been posted in Arunachal Pradesh since 2009, will be going home after polling for the two Lok Sabha seats and 60 assembly constituencies in the state gets over on April 11.
{{/usCountry}}The fifth among six siblings, Singh, who has been posted in Arunachal Pradesh since 2009, will be going home after polling for the two Lok Sabha seats and 60 assembly constituencies in the state gets over on April 11.
{{/usCountry}}Another officer who set an example is SS Choudhury, the returning officer for Nampong assembly seat in Changlang district, who lost his 80-year-old mother on March 31.
“My mother was suffering from gastric problems and some other stomach ailments. Since I have such enormous responsibility of managing polling at the assembly seat, I decided against going home to Kolkata for the final rituals,” said Choudhury, who has been posted in Arunachal since 1987.
The last rites of his mother were performed by Choudhury’s four brothers.
“Such cases of dedication to duty are extremely rare and these officers have gone beyond their call of duty to ensure a smooth poll. If I was in their place, I would have taken leave,” said Arunachal Pradesh chief electoral officer Kaling Tayeng.
While Singh and Choudhury are setting examples, the state election office has received complaints against 22 government officers for allegedly canvassing for candidates and political parties.
One officer has been transferred after he was found seeking votes for a candidate inside a government office. Inquiries have been ordered to probe the other complaints.
Government employees campaigning for candidates is not a rarity in Arunachal Pradesh where clan and family loyalty overrides worries about disciplinary action, a senior election official said on condition of anonymity.