Mixed response to officers dealing with the media briefing onthe Karur stampede

A press convention by senior officers early this week on the stampede that killed 41 individuals at Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam chief Vijay’s rally in Karur has triggered a dialogue, even because the Tamil Nadu authorities has been defending the choice.

AIADMK common secretary Edappadi Ok. Palaniswami is amongst those that have been important of the press convention. Addressing a gathering in Dharmapuri on Thursday, he criticised the officers briefing the press after a fee of inquiry was constituted.

Opinion is split amongst former civil servants and commentators as nicely. Some really feel that the officers shouldn’t be concerned in political issues and the political government ought to be accountable for the entire episode. But some others see nothing improper in what the officers have achieved: in any case, they’re nicely suited to clarify the nuances of the method behind clearance given by the native authorities for the Karur highway present.

A former IAS officer wonders what prevented the federal government from fielding its senior Ministers to current its model of the occasions. The former official feels that giving a clarification on a degree or two is okay however an elaborate response to numerous points seems to be unwarranted. Another retired officer says it’s not for the federal government to maintain responding to factors and questions raised by some individuals on social media. Else, the authorities’ total consideration will probably be solely on what goes on within the social media as an alternative of on their core job.

However, a number of different former civil servants differ. In a disaster state of affairs, officers do temporary the press. This is just not one thing new, they are saying, recalling the press briefings dealt with by authorities officers throughout the COVID-19 pandemic and by middle-level officers in occasions of disasters in districts.

One of them says the actual fact that senior officers of the rank of Additional Chief Secretary, Principal Secretary, and Additional Director-General of Police have interacted with the media exhibits that the federal government views the matter severely. The briefing would solely assist the inquiry panel know the place of the federal government. The query of the fee getting influenced by the briefing doesn’t come up as the duty of the panel is to research the matter comprehensively, the previous official says.

Supporting the officers, Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu says that when an “uncommon state of affairs” prevails, it’s the obligation of presidency officers to facilitate fact-checking. As for points that aren’t political, there may be nothing improper for officers to do the briefing. The factor of neutrality is current when officers conduct press interactions. “Moreover, it’s not just for the political government to step into the image,” he explains. Officials need to intervene when “false data is unfold freely”, paving the best way for pointless rigidity amongst individuals, Mr. Thennarasu provides.