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PC: anandabazar

As soon as he took charge of the West Bengal government, Chief Minister Subhendu Adhikari has started taking strict steps one after the other. On Wednesday, a strict instruction was issued by the administrative and personal departments under his control. New strict instructions have been issued for government officials. From commenting in the media, publishing government documents or information to participating in various media programmes, strict controls have been imposed in all areas.

This instruction issued by Chief Secretary Manoj Aggarwal has been sent to all the departments, commissioners, district administration and police administration of the state. It has been directed that this circular should be quickly circulated in all the offices under it and it should be strictly implemented. According to sources, this directive has been issued following recent complaints by individual government employees about commenting in the media, voicing their opinions on social media and leaking administrative information. After issuing this directive, according to a section of the state’s political circles, the state government has made arrangements for strict monitoring of the interactions of government officials and employees with the media.

According to the new guidelines, this rule will be applicable to IAS, WBCS, West Bengal Police Service (WBPS) officers as well as other government employees of the state, jail staff, government aided educational institutions, boards, municipalities, municipal corporations and autonomous bodies. It is clearly stated in the notification that no government employee will be able to participate in any media program without prior permission of the government. Even before participating in privately prepared or sponsored programs, it has been made necessary to obtain permission from the concerned authorities.

Apart from this, there is a complete ban on giving any government information, document or administrative paper directly or indirectly to the media. Without the permission of the government, no employee will be able to write articles in newspapers or magazines, nor will he be able to get involved in the editing or management of any newspaper. The same rule will also apply to giving speeches on radio or other broadcast media. Most importantly, government employees have been asked to avoid making any negative comments or criticism in public against the policies and decisions of the Central or State Government. If any statement or publication has a negative impact on Centre-State relations or India’s relations with other countries, it will be considered a punishment.

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According to a section of administrative circles, this guideline has further reduced the ability of government employees to express their views in public. However, a section of the government claims that this step has been taken to maintain administrative discipline and prevent misuse of government information. The state administration has said that regular monitoring will be done to ensure that the relevant code of conduct is being strictly followed. If any employee violates this guideline, departmental action can be taken against him.