Hyderabad: Shabbir shoots off missive to Prez over Collectors touching KCR's feet

Hyderabad: Former Minister and ex-Leader of opposition in Telangana Legislative Council Mohammed Ali Shabbir on Sunday demanded the Union Government to take action against the District Collectors of Siddipet and Kamareddy for touching the feet of Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao in full public view.

"The Collectors of Siddipet and Kamareddy districts - P Venkatrama Reddy and A Sharath respectively have violated the All India Services (Conduct) Rules, 1968 as both the District Collectors have touched the feet of the Chief Minister in full public view during the event of launch of District Collectorate office complexes on June 20, 2021 in their respective districts.

They are not only IAS officers but also District Magistrates. They have sent the wrong message and set a wrong precedent by bowing down before the Chief Minister, who is a political functionary," Shabbir Ali said in a letter to President of India Ramnath Kovind. A copy of this letter was also sent to Union Minister of State for Personnel Jithendra Singh.

Shabbir Ali, in his letter said that the Section 3 (ii) of the All India Services (Conduct) Rules, 1968 clearly says that 'Every member of the Service shall maintain Political Neutrality'. "The actions of both the District Collectors clearly exposed that they were not maintaining Political Neutrality.

The Chief Minister is also the President of Telangana Rashtra Samithi. Therefore, by bowing down and touching his feet, the District Collectors have conveyed a message to the common people that they were inclined towards the ruling party," he added.

The Congress leader said that the District Collectors have apparently forgotten that as per the Constitution, a Collector is the Chief Officer of the Revenue Administration and is responsible for the collection of land revenue and is also the highest Revenue Judicial Authority in the district.

"As the District Magistrate, he is responsible for law and order and heads the police and prosecuting agency," he added.