R Krishna Das
Prime Minister Narendra Modi had talked directly to the district magistrates (DMs) of the country’s worst COVID-19 affected districts. As usual, the opposition parties cried foul, claiming attack on the federal structure by ignoring states.
The critics, which included Congress party also, failed to recall the practice had been going on for long. Former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi had been talking directly to the district magistrates on many sensitive and critical issues.
Law Kumar Mishra, senior journalist who had a long tenure in Gujarat working for the Times of India, recalled Rajiv Gandhi as Prime Minister used to interact with district magistrates directly even in normal periods by organising regional meets at different state capitals. It used to be two-three days business where DMs were free to put questions to the Prime Minister.
“My articles on several series including droughts, water, fodder crisis in Kutch, Saurashtra and its management, create permanent assets (not massive digging operation) through relief works, how villagers became prosperous even in scarcity, how and why Gujarat government encouraged wider publicity of miseries by inviting journalists from Mumbai and Delhi (unlike contemporary officers trying to cover up),were circulated as resource materials in one of these PM-DM inhouse meetings,” Mishra said.
Some of the IAS officers (then young DMs) would confirm to say PM-DM virtual shows were not innovative exercise, he said, adding that it is a healthy practice to motivate and appreciate the district magistrates by the head of the country.
When the deliberations were on to bring the 64th amendment to accord constitutional status to the panchayati raj institutions, Rajiv Gandhi as Prime Minister had a direct conversation with the DMs. While the final report was being prepared, Rajiv was advised to meet all the district magistrates who would eventually conduct the elections and distribute the doles available under the Panchayati Raj reforms. Rajiv had met almost all the 400-odd district magistrates – perhaps the first prime minister of India to do so.
With the assured support of the district magistrates, Rajiv then invited all the chief secretaries for discussion. Again, they all supported him though there was some opposition to the question of a constitutional amendment.
The strategy worked. So impressed were the district magistrates that they almost unanimously endorsed the prime minister’s thinking on Panchayati Raj in their reports to the Centre.
In 2005, Prime Minister Manmohan Singh’s proposed move of meeting District Magistrates after the Budget session of Parliament was well-intentioned, certain non-UPA parties have taken strong exception that the step is “unwarranted and a transgression in the functioning of state governments.”
Former Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister Nara Chandrababu Naidu’s Telugu Desam party wrote a letter to Dr Manmohan Singh stressing that opening direct communication links with the District Magistrates in these days of coalition governments both at the Centre in the states is setting an “unhealthy and anti-federal precedent.”
