Hyderabad: The Telugu Desam is offering party memberships to government employees against the AP Civil Service conduct rules.
The party is also offering memberships to those working in law enforcement agencies to join the “Yellow Army”. The industry/occupation section of the e-membership form on the TD website has given these options.
According to Section 19 (1) of the APCS conduct rules no government employee shall be a member of, or be otherwise associated with any political party. There are several court judgments reiterating the ban on government employees joining political parties.
Also, those seeking membership have to enter their Aadhaar number and the caste they belong to. TD has been trying to identify voters by tagging them according to caste.
AP Secretariat employees association president, U. Murali Krishna said, “If an employee has to join politics he has to resign. Till the resignation letter is accepted, he cannot become member of any political party.”
The Madras High Court in September 2010 had held that government employees could be prohibited from being members of political parties and it would not amount to denying their fundamental rights.
MLC and former Progressive Recognised union leader P. Sudhakar Reddy, said, “Government employees, either of the Centre or state or any corporation, shall not take membership in political parties. There is a clear ban on it.”
The court had opined: “If any employee chooses to serve the nation by being a member of a political party, he can do so without continuing as a government servant. If he chooses to serve the nation as a government servant then he should forego his involvement in politics.”
TD on its official FB page states: “The Yellow Army numbers are growing in lakhs by the day. Around 60,000-70,000 people are becoming Telugu Desam members each day. In a first-of-its-kind initiative, TDP has arranged a special Welfare Fund for members of the party. Registered active members will be covered with an insurance of Rs 2 lakh. Growth and Development means Telugu Desam…Come! Register as a member today.”
