Political Intervention a Must, Modi Tells Babus - The New Indian Express

NEW DELHI:  Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday said that political intervention was necessary in a democracy and that bureaucrats shouldn’t view it as a hindrance, while drawing a distinction between political intervention and political interference which he termed “undesirable”.

“In a democracy, bureaucracy and political intervention go hand in hand. This is the speciality of democracy. If we have to run this country, we don’t require political interference. But political intervention is necessary and inevitable. Otherwise democracy will not work,” he said. While addressing a bureaucrats’ gathering at the Civil Services Day event, the Prime Ministerlightened the tone and asked whether the IAS academy in Mussoorie imparted training in remaining serious in life. In his characteristic style, he encouraged the bureaucrats to fight tension as “a life full of stress cannot achieve anything, especially when they have been tasked to run the nation”.

“You must have read a lot. You can even write on time management and must be managing time in your official duty. But do you spend quality time with your family? I want my friends on this Civil Services Day to think about it, but I cannot guide you on this. Your life should not become a file,” Modi said. Moving on to the subject of good governance, the Prime Minister said that every problem had solution which needed to be found out. “Accountability, Responsibility and Transparency. This ART is essential for good governance,” he said. He also asked the bureaucrats to end the “silo mentality” and work as a team.

Modi told senior bureaucrats that their work was not limited to running departments. Modernising the departments is also part of the job, he said. “The day is not far when the world will look at m-governance or mobile governance. We need to give impetus to reforms and technology,” the PM said.

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