Badri Prasad is a young outgoing officer. He has a naturally care free temperament. He lived in the present, enjoyed himself with little thought of future. His wife Sarojini shared his temperament and life style. They were keen on owning a plush apartment and a glitzy car. Unmindful of the financial commitments, they borrow heavily and get into large EMI payments. Then, suddenly Sarojini loses her job because of industrial recession. They find it hard to handle their personal finances. Some of their business acquaintances offer to take care of the EMI payments temporarily till the young couple get out of their financial problems. Badri and Sarojini mull over things. They decide to sell the car and slash household expenditure at least till Sarojini can get another job.
What will be your advice to them?
1. They should accept the offer to temporarily tide over the difficulties.
2. Officers should not feel that when business friends help them, they will always take advantage of them later in some way.
3. They should sell the car and slash household expenditure till Sarojini gets another job.
4. They should accept the offer but keep it completely secret.
The first option is ill advised. This will place them under obligation to their business friends. Officials are expected to keep their finances in reasonable order, and relying on others to make their EMI payments means that their household finances arein a mess.
The second formulation can be accepted as a general statement. Rich businessmen can also be generous and may want to help their young friends in financial difficulty. This general principle has to give way before specific official codes of conduct which prohibit government servants from taking monetary assistance from private persons.
The third option is the most appropriate one. Badri should not become dependent on others in this way. His friends may be well intentioned. But by accepting such help, Badri will be placing himself in a false position. In any case, if he takes such help, he will be violating his official rules of conduct. It is incumbent upon Badri and Sarojini to immediately set their financial house in order.
In the last choice, Badri and Sarojini will be violating the official code of conduct and keep it under wraps. They are in any case violating the code of conduct. Experience shows that such attempts at secrecy often fail. People have a tendency to talk, and somehow or the other matters will leak out.
Conduct rules expressly prohibit civil servants from taking part in political activities. The purpose of such rules is to ensure the political neutrality of civil servants. No government servant can join or otherwise associate himself with any political party or any political organization. Nor can he participate, aid or support any political movement or political activity. She cannot also canvass, interfere with, or use her influence in elections at central, state or local level. Civil servants should
also try to prevent their family members from joining movements which directly or indirectly try to subvert lawfully constituted governments. Naxal or Maoist movement is a case in point.