Dependents too barred from being subversive of Govt
Bivek Mathur
JAMMU, Mar 24: The Jammu and Kashmir Government has issued a directive to all the Administrative Secretaries, Deputy Commissioners (DCs), Heads of Departments (HoDs), and Managing Directors (MDs) to take action against employees or officers found to have breached social media guidelines and rules, in line with the applicable disciplinary procedures.
This decision comes in response to the Government’s observation of Government servants frequently violating social media guidelines despite “repeated reminders”.
The guidelines and rules in question were issued through Government Order number 1646-JK(GAD) of 2017, dated December 26, 2017, as well as the Jammu and Kashmir Employees Conduct Rules, 1971, Article 19(2) of the Constitution of India, and the Jammu and Kashmir Civil Services (Classification, Control, and Appeal) Rules, 1956.
A circular issued by Sanjeev Verma, Commissioner Secretary to the Government, General Administration Department (GAD), today, highlighted the concerning behaviour exhibited by Government employees on various social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, WhatsApp and Telegram.
According to the circular, the employees have been observed expressing disparaging views on subjects they are prohibited from commenting on under the established rules.
The circular emphasized that Government employees must adhere to “acceptable standards of official conduct” as outlined in the guidelines and rules.
It noted instances of unauthorized communication of official information, dissemination of inaccurate information, airing of political or communal views, and engaging in activities that could be deemed subversive to the Government.
In response to repeated violations, the Government has reiterated the main features of the existing guidelines afresh for compliance by the Government employees.
As per the GAD circular, these guidelines prohibit the publication, posting, or release of confidential information on social media platforms by Government employees. They are also barred from passing any official document or part thereof to any Government employee or any such person to whom he/she is not authorised to communicate such document or information.
Employees are also prohibited from discussing or criticizing Government policies or actions on social media, participating in political or anti-secular discussions, or engaging in activities that undermine the established Government.
“No Government employee shall post, tweet or share content that is political or anti-secular and communal in nature or subscribe to pages, communities or twitter handles and blogs of such nature,” read the circular.
It has been further clarified that no Government employee shall himself/herself or through any person dependent on him/her for maintenance, or under his care of control, undertake any such activity on social media which is, or tends directly or indirectly to be, subversive of the Government as by law established in the country or in the Union Territory.
“A Government employee may, for the purpose or removing misapprehensions, correcting miss-statements, and refuting disloyal and seditious propaganda, defend and explain to the public the policy of Government in his posts and tweets on social media,” ordered the Government.
Additionally, employees have been asked not to post their grievances pertaining to their workplace on social media in the form of videos, posts, tweets, or blogs or in any other form, but will follow the already established channels of complaint redressal existing in the departments.
“Government employees shall not indulge in sharing/partaking in so-called giveaways and contests on social media platforms, which are actually scams in disguise, as they could unknowingly spread malware or trick people into giving away sensitive data by sharing it on their profiles,” ordered the Government.
However, the Government has clarified that fresh guidelines are not intended to dissuade employees/departments from using social media for positive and constructive purposes.
It has been accordingly enjoined upon all the employees working in various Government departments/PSUs/Corporations/Boards/Autonomous Bodies etc to strictly adhere to the guidelines and legal principles issued by the Government and refrain from indulging in unwarranted debates/discussions and sharing/commenting/posting inappropriate post/content on social media platforms.
“Violation of these guidelines/rules shall tantamount to misconduct and invite disciplinary action against the delinquent official under the relevant rules,” ordered the Government.
Accordingly, the Government has directed all the Administrative Secretaries/Deputy Commissioners/Heads of the Departments/Managing Directors to immediately proceed against the employees working in their departments/offices who are found to have violated the guidelines and rules, in terms of the relevant disciplinary framework.
“Further, in case of a violation committed on a group platform, the ‘Administrator’, if they are serving Government/semi-Government employees, shall also be liable for disciplinary proceedings,” ordered the Government.
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