The Aam Aadmi Party-led-Punjab government has directed administrative secretaries to monitor the social media activities of employees, reported The Tribune.
Citing sources, the English daily informed that the Punjab government has already issued orders to the effect. Under the new policy, any government employee found criticising the policies of the State will be issued notices.
The administrative secretaries must notify the General Administration Department, prior to issuing notices to the employees who speak adversely of the Punjab government.
AAP govt has a history of controlling social media activities
This is however not the first time that an Aam-Aadmi Party government has resorted to controlling the social media activities of its employees.
During the Covid-19 pandemic in April 2020, a Delhi government-run hospital (Guru Teg Bahadur) issued a circular for medical professionals, directing them to not flag their problems, related to duty, on any social media platform.
केजरीवाल सरकार का आर्डर –
— Kapil Mishra (@KapilMishra_IND) April 23, 2020
कोई डॉक्टर , नर्स या कर्मचारी अपनी प्रॉब्लम ट्विटर, व्हाट्सएप, फेसबुक में नहीं शेयर करेगा
मीडिया को बताने पर भी प्रतिबंध
खाना , मास्क न, एकोमोडेशन – कुछ न मिले, चुप रहो
ये आर्डर इसलिए क्योंकि सोशल मीडिया पर सरकार के सारे झूठ की पोल खुल रही हैं pic.twitter.com/qz5jOajmV1
In the circular, Sunil Kumar, the Medical Director of the hospital, had warned, “All COVID-19 staff are advised to refrain from talking to media or using social media such as Whatsapp, Facebook, Twitter etc to make their complaints public”.
The circular warned that they are on National duty and some difficulties are inevitable. “The same should not be highlighted in various social media as the same may be very embarrassing for the government”, read the circular.
