By News Agency of Kashmir
Srinagar : With assembly in session and the restriction imposed by chief minister Ghulam Nabi Azad regarding entry of MLAs and commoners inside the civil secretariat, the Babus of coalition government have almost become inaccessible for the masses.
The decision to restrict the entry of MLAs inside the secretariat has cast its shadow on the common masses who are now getting access to office of a bureaucrats only after 5 PM, that too: `Once in a Blue Moon’.
If the feelings shared by some people waiting in long queues outside the offices of some top bureaucrats are any indication the policies of Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad were becoming synonymous with the decisions which are more anti-people than aimed at mitigating the sufferings of common masses in the state.
The MLAs were categorized with the common masses who also enter the civil secretariat after 2 p.m. The decision led to jubilation among the bureaucracy while the MLAs especially of the Congress party were made to eat a humble pie.
If one visits the civil secretariat, almost all the bureaucrats have a one liner, “Meeting hours after 3 p.m. ”
But the meeting hours for common man start after 5 p.m as the bureaucrats become over-occupied with MLAs – who visit the former with their grievances – while the commoners queue up outside the offices of the bureaucrats with their ‘slips’ and visiting cards gathering dust under the heavy spectacles of the bureaucrats.
One such interesting episode was witnessed by special correspondent of News Agency of Kashmir outside the office of flamboyant and powerfully connected lobby of bureaucrats’ family, Commissioner Secretary General Administration Khurshid Ganai with commoners queuing up outside the office waiting for their turn to enter the office.
Slips after slips were being sent inside the office of the Commissioner Secretary but nobody was called inside as a “lady was having an important meeting with the officer”.
As soon as the lady emerged out of the office of the Commissioner Secretary GAD, Congress MLC Rajinder Singh Chib entered the office and the ‘commoners’ were still waiting outside the office.
As one of the waiting ‘commoner’ asked the office boy, when they will be called inside and whether the officer has received the ‘slips’ they have sent inside, curt came the reply, ” Slips To Di Thi, Lekin Pa Sahib Ne ‘Sahib’ Ka Chashma(Spectacles) Un Par Rakh Diya Hai, Ab
Hamari Himmat To Nahin Hai Ki Sahib Ka Chashma Utha Kar Slip Dobara Se Unko De Den .” (I gave the slips to Sahib, but PA kept the spectacles of Sahib over the slips. I am not competent enough to lift the spectacles and hand him over the slips of waiting persons).
Most of the waiting commoners have to return without having an audience with Commissioner Sahib as the time was over for meeting and Sahib were in a hurry to return home.
Soon after Ghulam Nabi Azad took over as chief minister of the state, he banned the entry of MLAs to the civil secretariat before 2 p.m claiming that their entry disturbs the senior officers and their workings, so MLAs would enter the secretariat after 2 p.m. (NAK)