The Department of personnel and training (DOPT) has asked government officials to be courteous and respectful towards the elected representative. It has instructed all states to ask serving bureaucrats to comply with the code of conduct in their dealings with the representative of the public.

The Economic Times reported on Thursday that DOPT wrote a letter on September 11 to all chief secretaries, expressing the need to sensitize the bureaucrats while dealing with elected representative with utmost respect else they will have to face consequences.

As per the code of conduct, bureaucrats have to be meticulously correct and courteous and they have to rise while receiving and seeing off an MP or MLA and these people representative have to be invited in public function in their respective area. DoPT has asked officers to make proper sitting arrangements in public functions and officers should not ignore their telephone calls and SMSs or e-mails. The letter says that violation of the guidelines would be taken seriously and after due process of inquiry this would be dealt seriously against erring officials.

There have been 15 notices from MPs against IAS officers since 2011, forcing the DoPT to write this letter.