No politics please

This year Civil Services Day – April 21 was celebrated on social media. As this is an election year there was no celebration and award ceremony. The PMs Awards for Excellence in Public Administration was started by the former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, where civil servants from all streams were awarded but Narendra Modi changed its and last four years’ awards were given to those who performed and excelled in implementing the Prime Minister’s programmes. There were some whispers on the ground but since it was the PM’s award, the prerogative to choose the awardees rests with the PM. This year too, the spirit never dampened. The twitterati Prime Minister Modi tweeted @Narendra “Today, on Civil Services Day my greetings to all civil servants who are serving the nation with utmost diligence in all parts of India. Their hard work enhances our nation’s development trajectory”. @Narendra Modi “Today, we pay tributes to the great Sardar Patel whose outstanding role in the making of our present day civil service ensured our nation has a strong administrative framework that empowers millions of lives through policy interventions and methodical implementation.” Interestingly, the IAS and IPS bodies were not lagging behind irrespective of the fact it was a Sunday. Both associations tweeted, @IAS Association “Happy Civil Services Day. It was on this day that Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel, addressed the first batch of civil servants in Independent India at the Metcalf House where he referred to civil servants as the ‘steel frame of India’. @IPS Association “While we #IPS officers resolve to remain true to values of the Steel Frame that our founding fathers enunciated, our gratitude is due to citizens, whose support & respect motivate us to face challenges & sacrifice, to defend our country & the constitution.” One can admire the spirit of the vision of the founding father of Civil Services Sardar Vallabh Bhai Patel, who said, “Above all, I would advise you to maintain to the utmost the impartiality and incorruptibility of administration. A civil servant cannot afford to and must not, take part in politics. Nor must he involve himself in communal wrangles.” Happy Civil Services Day.