Government officials confessed that the practice of incorporating a minister or a secretary’s name in issuing letters, came into being after it was noticed that the “harmless name dropping helped elicit quick responses’’ from tardy government departments and state governments many a times. “But now officers will try to be more careful in issuing letters and disposing off files,” an official said.
Giving clear directions to ministry officials, the circular says that “any letter which is purported to be issued with the approval of the home secretary should be put up in draft stage to the home secretary. Likewise, any letter which is purported to be issued with the approval of the home minister should be put up in draft stage to the home minister.” The ministry has said that “strict compliance’’ should be ensured in this regard and all divisional heads should sensitise their officers accordingly.
The BJP had recently demanded the sacking of the home minister holding him guilty of allegedly misusing his power to favour a former client accused in the forgery case.