In our view, in addition to constituting a brazen infringement of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC), this amounts to a corrupt practice that should attract urgent deterrent action from the Election Commission of India (ECI). The civil services in India owe their existence to Part XIV of the Constitution. Sardar Patel who laid thefoundation for the civil services, while addressing trainee civil servants on April 21, 1947, emphasised that they should “maintain the utmost impartiality and incorruptibility of administration. Under those Rules, civil servants are prohibited from taking part in any activity that is likely to exert an undue influence on the electorate. Deploying Central government officers in an activity that literally amounts to canvassing for the ruling political party in elections they are contesting would negate all democratic norms.

Source: Economic Times October 24, 2023 12:02 UTC