A common man does not matter, a VIP does

You may have noticed officials on duty, who are posted as returning officers, sitting snugly – or smugly? – in their chairs when even the high and mighty arrive to file their nomination papers. It does not matter if the person is the Prime Minister seeking re-election or accompanied by others holding high offices. They remain seated till the process is over. Videos and photographs serve as testimony to this practice, implying that whoever arrived, it was a level playing field.

That, however, is only a one-time exhibition of neutrality. After that, when elections are over, the positions drastically change, and the officers dare not sit in the office of the elected – a sarpanch, a council member, a corporator, an MLA, an MP, or anyone among them who gains an office. The officials have to wait to be asked to be seated. And the officials comply with this protocol.

Last month, the Maharashtra government issued a diktat that when a legislator or an MP visits the office of the government, the official must rise, listen to the visitor attentively and be polite in the use of language, even during a telephonic conversation. The government resolution (GR) was passed off as a bid to make the administration reliable and accountable. This would promote transparency, too. There would be “action taken” against officials who do not follow these “guidelines.”

Courtesy is not so basic

A question comes to mind – why should the officials, who include those from the Indian Administration Service and the Indian Police Service, be told to adhere to the basic norms of courtesy? Simply because some thin-skinned politicians had complained that they were, apparently, not being given courteous treatment when interacting with the officials. Chances are, they are random experiences, but they have to make a point, and the government obliged.

What could be the causes of complaints? Not being invited to a foundation-laying event, missing out on printing the elected representatives’ names on an invitation, errors in seating arrangements, which may have violated the protocol or a usual practice. Many of these incidents that rub the legislator on the wrong side could be inadvertent because these politicians are not to be played with, and the officials know its consequences. Who knows, one day the hurt person may become a minister!

No change in sight

Wouldn’t it have been wonderful for the government to issue a GR to all the officials at all levels of the administration on how to conduct themselves with the common man? Regardless of who the person is, there is at least one interface between a citizen and the government at the cutting edge or in the last mile of a process. Be it procuring a ration card, a driver’s license or getting a street repaired. But at this level, the citizen sees brusque treatment, and responses like “come tomorrow” till the man is compelled to offer a bribe.

Or find a middleman, commonly known as a dalal, broker, facilitator or someone who has connections and contacts at the personal level. The Maharashtra government’s instructions, guidelines or command distinguishes between an elected person and a common citizen, the former favourably and the latter disdainfully. It is the citizen who votes people to positions of power, which are to be used even-handedly and to the benefit of the citizen, not dispensed as a patronage or a favour.

Normally, a citizen dreads approaching a government office because of the runaround that would be ahead to get even a normal thing like a driver’s license. If not done through the facilitator who charges a fee, one may not even get anywhere close to having their work done. This is not exclusively in Maharashtra, but almost everywhere. Let me recall an event when former US President Bill Clinton visited the erstwhile Andhra Pradesh. Chandrababu Naidu was the then Chief Minister, and he was out to display how the government was tech-savvy.

Clinton had his license issued in a jiffy, and he marvelled at it all. I called a friend and congratulated him for living in a state like AP – forward, tech savvy, quick service, et al. He woke me up from my dream for him. He said – paraphrased here – come over and try your hand. Unless the clerk is made happy, the license will not be issued. The excuse would be that there was a power failure, the inverter was in bad repair, the printer was not functional, or the ink tank was dry. Do the honours, and your license will be ready in no time. He made a point.