Dheeksha Mahesh@NFC
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is protesting at Lieutenant Governor’s office for the past week. Lieutenant Anil Baijal is the Governor of Delhi.
Why is Delhi CM protesting?
Delhi CM and other AAP leaders have accused the Indian Administrative Officers (civil servants) of being on strike and not attending meetings called by ministers and stalling the working of the government from past four months. Chief Minister is asking the Governor to meet the civil servants and order them to get back to their work.
Who are these civil servants?
Have you ever wondered who manages and runs India? A company is manged by boss, managers and employees. Have you wondered how about India? Yes, we have Prime Minister who heads the country and other ministers who heads various departments. But we need managers and employees to take care and manage day-to-day affairs of India. Just the boss is not enough to run the company. The managers and employees who administer the country everyday are called Civil Servants or Bureaucrats or Government Servant.
Unlike other constitutions, Indian Constitutional document includes a chapter on Public Services (civil servants). The Prime Minister and the other ministers determine the policy of administration, but the policies are carried out and the administration of the country is actually run by a large body of officials, who do not belong to any political party.
Ministers will come and go after every election but these officials will stay till they retire. They are called Permanent Executive. They are responsible for the continuity of the country’s administration.
The civil servants are selected through special procedure. There is Union Public Service Commission(UPSC) as well as there is Public Service commission in each state. They conduct examinations to recruit the candidates to Union and State respectively.
Those who clear the UPSC exams will be next to the minister in hierarchy, advising the minister about the state of affairs of India or respective states. Those who get selected in the State Public Service Commission (SPSC) will be third in the hierarchy.
Hierarchy:
- Minister (Elected by people through general elections)
- General Secretary (UPSC candidate)
- Secretary (SPSC candidate)
- Other employees like assistants, clerks etc
The ministers do not have the power to remove the bureaucrats. Constitution provides a special procedure to remove them. The minister or anyone have to follow the constitution.
Things to do:
Next time when you or your parent visit RTO to get license etc…find out:
Who is the road transport minister?
Who is the General Secretary or IAS officer (selected through UPSC)
Who is the assistant commissioner or KAS (Karnataka Administrative Service) officer (selected through State PSC)