The Hindu Editorial Vocabulary– October 25, 2023; Day 486

Crossing a line (do something that is outside the bounds of acceptable behaviour): On the Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra roadshow, the implications

The government should desist (Restrain oneself from consuming or doing something) from politicising (Give a political character to) the bureaucracy

The Centre has asked all departments to deploy officers to showcase its achievements across the country down to the village level, through a roadshow titled Viksit Bharat Sankalp Yatra, which will run from November 20 to January 25, 2024. To be sure, the outreach is only about achievements of the last nine years that corresponds to the two terms of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) that began in 2014. The campaign is conveniently timed for the Lok Sabha election which is expected in April-May 2024. Joint Secretaries, Directors, and Deputy Secretaries will be appointed Rath Prabharis (chariots in-charge) for the roadshow. Separately, the Ministry of Defence is setting up (Get ready for a particular purpose or event) 822 ‘selfie points’ where citizens can click themselves with a picture of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Guidelines issued by the Ministry go into great details on how to promote the work of the last nine years. It has been directed that these selfie points “should be set up at prominent locations, which have maximum footfall and the potential of attracting public attention”. War memorials, defence museums, railway and metro stations, bus stations, airports, malls and market places, schools and colleges, tourist destinations and festival gatherings are places where these points are coming up. Opposition parties led by Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge have called out (draw critical attention to someone’s unacceptable actions or behaviour) the government for this brazen (without embarrassment, especially in a way which shocks people) politicisation of the bureaucracy and the military.

India’s constitutional scheme of governance envisages (to think of something as being possible in the future; to imagine) the separation of power among the three arms of the state — the executive, the judiciary and the legislature — and also a line of separation between the bureaucracy and the military from the political executive. While both the bureaucracy and the military are strictly under the control of the political executive, they are insulated (Separate in order to protect or prevent interaction) from partisan (Devoted to a cause or party) politics. In fact, the extensive election process in India has largely retained its credibility because of the bureaucratic impartiality demanded by the system. The military’s involvement in any kind of domestic politics is considered anathema (a thing or an idea which you hate because it is the opposite of what you believe). Civil and military officials are expected to remain loyal to the government elected by the citizens, regardless of their personal ideological inclination (bias). Instant directives force them into partisan roles in furtherance of the interests of the ruling party. The BJP’s strategy of disregarding norms in pursuit of electoral gains has been successful, but the trail (a series of events or conditions) of damage it leaves behind will fester (to become or cause to become bitter, irritated, etc, esp over a long period of time). If institutions are undermined, the damage may well be irreversible. It is time the ruling party kept the interests of the nation before itself, and practised what it preaches.

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