MP writes to CM seeking curbs on fan pages of IAS, IPS officers

This is the second time in recent days that Mysuru MP Pratap Simha has raised the issue

A file photo of Mysuru MP Pratap Simha, who has written to Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai calling for a ‘comprehensive set of guidelines’ for projecting the various public welfare schemes undertaken by the government of Karnataka.

Mysuru MP Pratap Simha has called upon Chief Minister Basavaraj Bommai to put an end to the culture of ‘self-glorification’ by IAS and IPS officers through their various social media handles.

He has written a three-page letter to the Chief Minister on the issue and called for a ‘comprehensive set of guidelines’ for projecting the various public welfare schemes undertaken by the government of Karnataka.

This, the MP has said, will ‘shut out the higher bureaucracy from wrongfully appropriating credit through social media platforms by wading into a completely forbidden domain for self-glorification’.

This is for the second time in recent days that Mr. Simha has raised the issue. He had earlier described the contents on social media handles of IAS and IPS officers as ‘pretensions’.

Some fan pages and social media platforms were being used to peddle false narratives which, he said, potentially lead to online harassment.

“Such a practice of garnering false publicity needs to be discouraged. The government should evolve a robust mechanism to keep a tab on the activities of some publicity-hungry IAS and IPS officers so that the misuse of social media platforms for promoting the personal agenda of bureaucrats could be prevented,” said Mr. Simha.

The MP claims that a majority of citizens ‘concur’ with his views on this issue while a handful of people had questioned his motives. He stated that as elected representatives, it was their ‘sworn responsibility’ to provide factual information on the work being done in their respective constituencies.

Mr. Simha sought to differentiate the official account or handle of each district’s SP or DC, and said his limited point was that their personal accounts and so-called fan pages, which are used to falsely boost their images, should be immediately dispensed with.

 

 

Without citing names, he claimed to have come across some IAS and IPS officers who are incompetent and corrupt but have successfully created an image of being crusaders using social media. “Some.... are arrogant, indifferent and corrupt in their personal lives, but use the fake clean image as a cover to hide all their nefarious activities,” Mr. Simha wrote to the Chief Minister.

In the letter, he claimed that some officers have hired professional publicity agencies to boost their career and image, and questioned the source of money to pay for these services.