During the last few days, two issues regarding government employees and officers are in constant discussion in Haryana and it includes the use of social media by the government employees and not maintaining the privacy of the official confidential information. It is learnt that the employees continue to criticise the policies of the state government and are leaking the confidential information of their offices. Last year, an employee in the office of the Home Ministry at the Haryana Secretariat was found leaking confidential information. Even at present, such information is continuously coming to the fore that the employees continue to get involved in breach of norms and are leaking the information of the concerned office. Now the government seems to take cognizance regarding this. The employees leaking the confidential information seem to be in the eye of the storm as an order has been issued recently by the establishment branch of Haryana civil secretariat mentioning that in case any employees found in the breach of the norms, will be subject to stern action. It has also been revealed in the information received that such personnel are being monitored in the secretariat .This information has also been forwarded to the Chief Principal Secretary and Additional Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister along with secretaries of all cabinet ministers.
Apart from aforesaid, it is learnt that the employees criticising the policies of the state government on social media are on the radar as it continues to annoy the state government. In continuation to this, it is worth stating that Indian Railways and a state have issued orders stating what kind of approach employees should have towards the government’s policies on social media. One of the orders stated that it was observed that some of the employees are openly criticising adversely on the government policies etc. on the social media platforms. Pertaining to this, all administrative secretaries were directed to monitor the social media networks on regular basis and identify the employees criticising adversely the government policies and issue notices these employees under the intimation to the General Administration Department (GAD) and it will issue necessary circular instruction in this regard.
In this series what rule book pertaining to the conduct of government employees of Haryana states is that no government employees shall, in any radio or communication over electronic media or in any document in his own name or anonymously or pseudonymously on in the name of any person or in any communication to the press or in any public utterance make any statement of fact or opinion which has the effect of any adverse criticism of any recent or current policy or action of the government of India, government of Haryana on any other state government.