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Union Minister Jyotiraditya Scindia has strongly condemned the “absurd and shocking” demands from staff for a two-day trip to Prayagraj, by BSNL director Vivek Banzal. This comes a day after the ‘royal itinerary’ went viral online and drew flak from netizens.
A day after senior BSNL director, Vivek Banzal's list of demands to around 50 officials of the state-run telecom major ahead of his proposed two-day visit to Prayagraj, went viral online, Union Minister of Communication, Jyotiraditya Scindia has condemned the incident.
Speaking to reporters on 25 February, Scindia was absolute that such behaviour “violates all the rules and traditions”. When asked about the incident he said, “It's simply unbelievable that such an order would be issued by anyone. It violates all the rules and traditions.”
He added that show cause notice has been sent to the company, adding, “We have also show caused the director (Banzal). We will seek response and take action. It is beyond absurd and shocking.”
ANI reported that the show case has a seven-day response period.
BSNL director's ‘royal itinerary’: What happened?
According to a PTI report, the “royal itinerary”-like office order, included demands for combs, hair oil and underwear. It quickly drew negative attention online. Around 20 tasks were assigned to nearly 50 officials.
Banzal is director (CFA) of the BSNL Board and was scheduled to be in Prayagraj from 25-26 February.
What was on the list?
- Once in Prayagraj, bathing in Sangam, boat ride, and visits to Bade Hanuman Mandir, Akshayavat and Patalpuri temples were planned.
- The 'snan' kits consisted of towel, undergarment, slippers (mentioned as sleeper in the office order), comb, mirror and an oil bottle.
- The office order also mentioned that six male kits (consisting of towel, underwear, mirror, comb, soap, shampoo, oil) and two female kits should be arranged.
- Instruction was also issued to arrange one bed sheet for general use at the ghat.
- At the hotel and Circuit House, dry fruit bowl, fruit bowl, saving kit (shaving kit), towel, toothpaste, brush, soap, shampoo, comb and oil were to be arranged, the order said.
How has BSNL responded?
The entire incident appears to be an attempt to tarnish (our) image, a senior BSNL officer based in Prayagraj told PTI on condition of anonymity, and refused to entertain any further queries on the issue.
Meanwhile, BSNL India in a post on X on February 21, said, "BSNL has standing instructions in place regarding the manner in which official visits are to be handled. An instance of non-adherence to the same has been taken note of. The instance noted is not in conformity with the professional standards and values of BSNL.
"Appropriate action has been taken against the concerned."
"Further, instructions have been issued reiterating strict adherence to extant instructions. BSNL employees are reminded to strictly adhere to prescribed conduct rules and instructions in this regard," the post said.
According to the BSNL website, Banzal is an Indian Telecommunication Service officer of 1987 batch. He has a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Electronics, Master of Engineering in Computer Science, and MBA. He has more than 34 years of experience handling telecom network in India.
"Since 2016, he has been promoting and managing Bharat Fiber (BSNL's FTTH services), BSNL IT framework, and other services. His vision has led to the digitization of processes and the introduction of innovative solutions for customers," the BSNL website said.
(With inputs from Agencies)
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Jocelyn Fernandes
Jocelyn Fernandes is a journalist and editor with nearly 13 years of experience in business, economy and markets news. <br> As chief content producer ...Read More
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