HDK targets Congress govt for deploying IAS officer to receive opposition leaders, CM cites protocol

BENGALURU: Former Chief Minister and JD(S) leader H D Kumaraswamy on Tuesday launched an attack on the Congress government in the state for deploying 30 IAS officers to receive attendees for the opposition unity meeting being held in Bengaluru.

Kumaraswamy pointed out that the even is only a political meeting and not a government programme. Deputing IAS officers is an insult to the state and a violation of IAS service rules, the JD(S) leader noted in a series of tweets.

Kumaraswamy said that in the last 40 years, there was no instance of IAS officers being deputed to receive political leaders arriving for a political meeting.

In response to the charges Chief Minister Siddaramaiah tweeted stating the chief ministers of different states and former Union ministers have been considered as state guests and added that officers were deployed only to receive them as per protocol.

The CM also said the state government has no other role in the organising of the programme and added that such protocol has been followed on earlier occasions too.

Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar, responding to the issue, said governments come and go, but protocols have to be followed. “Senior officers were deputed only to receive state guests. Myself and other ministers too went to receive some chief ministers. Kumaraswamy wants to be in the news, he did not get an invite for the NDA meeting too”, he noted.

Deputy CM D K Shivakumar said officers were deputed only to receive state guests.

Later, speaking to reporters, Kumaraswamy said such political gatherings have been held earlier. “But such a thing has never happened in the last 40 years. When I visited West Bengal when Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee had hosted a meeting, only MLAs, MPs and TMC leaders welcomed us, not officers. The Congress government is misusing IAS officers. Are they out to enlist the officers in the Congress? To my knowledge, such a thing has never happened before”, he noted.

Responding to D K Shivakumar’s claims, he said the former has no explanation and was hence making such claims.