Former Minister Mohammed Ali Shabbir on Sunday demanded that the Government of India take action against the District Collectors of Siddipet and Kamareddy for touching the feet of Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao in full public view.
“The Collectors of Siddipet and Kamareddy districts of Telangana State, P Venkatrama Reddy and Dr. A. Sharath respectively. have violated the All India Services (Conduct) Rules, 1968. Both the District Collectors have touched the feet of the Chief Minister in full public view during the event of launch of District Collectorate office complexes on June 20, 2021 in their respective districts. They are not only IAS officers but also District Magistrates. They have sent the wrong message and set a wrong precedent by bowing down before the Chief Minister, who is a political functionary.” Shabbir Ali said in a letter to President of India Ramnath Kovind.
A copy of this letter was also sent to Union Minister of State for Personnel Jithendra Singh.
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Shabbir Ali, in his letter said that the Section 3 (ii) of the All India Services (Conduct) Rules, 1968 clearly says that ‘Every member of the Service shall maintain Political Neutrality’. “The actions of both the District Collectors clearly exposed that they were not maintaining Political Neutrality. The Chief Minister is also the President of Telangana Rashtra Samithi. Therefore, by bowing down and touching his feet, the District Collectors have conveyed a message to the common people that they were inclined towards the ruling party,” he said.
The Congress leader said that the District Collectors have apparently forgotten that as per the Constitution, a Collector is the Chief Officer of the Revenue Administration and is responsible for the collection of land revenue, and is also the highest Revenue Judicial Authority in the district. Further, as the District Magistrate, he is responsible for law and order and heads the police and prosecuting agency, he said.
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“By touching the feet of the Chief Minister in a public function, both the Collectors have insulted the Constitution and behaved like political functionaries,” he alleged while requesting the President of India to take note of their behavior and take necessary action.
SOURCE-IANS
