Karnataka govt restrains officials from going before media
Bengaluru: The Karnataka government on Saturday restrained officials from going before the media to air their grievances or share opinions, other than for bonafide official purposes.
It also put a stop to officials using social media as a platform to project government or department achievements as personal achievements and asked them to use accounts or handles created in the name of the administration to share official information.
"Government officials making unwarranted statements through press statements and press conferences have come to the government's notice. As such incidents will have ill effects on the administrative system and cause embarrassment to the government. The government has viewed such conduct of the officials seriously," an official circular said.
Signed by Chief Secretary P Ravi Kumar, it said, officials have hence been prohibited from making unwarranted statements through press statements and press conferences, other than for the purpose of performing bonafide official duties.
Citing service rules, the government said disciplinary action would be taken against officials found making use of unwarranted platforms to express their personal opinion and indulging in any act that causes embarrassment to the government in violation of rules and policies. It further said officials can only use the media to share official information on government programs and for necessary official duties, but not to air their grievances.
Use of social media platforms to project government or department achievements as personal achievements have been strictly prohibited, the circular further said.
At the time of publicizing information on department achievements and government programmes, officials, instead of using their personal social media accounts, should use accounts or handles created in the name of the government or administration, it added.
The circular has come after Revenue Minister R Ashoka on Thursday had told the legislative assembly that the government will instruct the Chief Secretary to take action against "overacting" officials who directly go before the media to level charges or air grievances.
He was responding to an issue raised by JD(S) leader and former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and his party MLA Sa Ra Mahesh, accusing some IAS officers of making allegations against legislators before the media.
Mahesh was referring to IAS officer Rohini Sindhuri, who was previously the Mysuru Deputy Commissioner, both of whom had accused each other of irregularities.
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Owaisi seeks independent probe into cleric’s death on train, calls it ‘transit-based hate crime’
New Delhi: AIMIM president Asaduddin Owaisi has written to Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, requesting an independent investigation into the death of Maulana Tousif Raza Mazhari, who allegedly died after being assaulted on a train in Uttar Pradesh on April 26.
In his letter, Owaisi defined the incident as a "transit-based hate crime" and raised concerns about what he called frequent attempts to dismiss such incidents as unintentional.
According to The Observer Post, Mazhari was travelling on Train No. 04314 after attending a religious meeting in Bareilly when the incident occurred.
The Hyderabad MP also demanded financial compensation for the victim’s family and a government job on compassionate grounds for a dependent. He noted that the deceased was the sole breadwinner.
According to the family, Mazhari, an imam and madrasa teacher from Kishanganj, was allegedly assaulted by a group of passengers who accused him of theft. His wife, Tabassum Khatoon, claimed she witnessed part of the incident during a video call, in which he was seen being beaten and dragged despite identifying himself as a teacher.
Police in Bareilly said the case came to light after a body was recovered near railway tracks on April 27. The incident was initially treated as a possible accidental fall. However, following objections raised by the family, officials said further investigation is underway.
The case has drawn reactions from several opposition leaders, including Md Jawaid, Imran Pratapgarhi, and Chandrashekhar Azad. They questioned the initial police version and called for a transparent investigation.
