PM Modi’s instructions to lawmakers from UP on transfer of officers is big jolt to rotting system

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s strict instructions to his lawmakers from Uttar Pradesh to refrain from seeking favours from the newly-formed Yogi Adityanath government may not completely cleanse the rotting system. But it has made the message clear as a crystal — abuse of power is undesirable and the government intends to weed out impediments in its agenda of clean governance. The future will reveal how effectively these instructions are being followed and how steadfast the BJP government is to its promise of a clean governance, but the message would definitely boost the morale of upright officers.

Only recently, former UP minister Azam Khan lashed out at an official for the poor state of the road he was walking on. He unabashedly said in full view of the camera how he pulled the officer out of the muck. The former minister inadvertently revealed the hidden filth in the functioning of the administrative system that transfers and postings have been reduced to rewarding sycophancy and punishing noncompliance. It is fresh in the public memory how the entire administration had gone into an overdrive to find the stolen buffaloes of the Rampur MLA, a couple of years back. Was it the fear of reprisals in form of transfer and postings? Maybe!