There can be little question that the Uttara incident requires deft and efficient handling in the interest of the civil service itself. The officers who have just been made OSDs unfortunately came together at a time and in circumstances when politics was taking a volatile shape. It has long been suspected that the meeting might have been in clear furtherance of a certain political interest. Whether or not it was that is something for the administration to throw light on. A little more seriousness has been added to the issue by a caretaker adviser's assertion that the officers involved in the Uttara affair will be dealt with under the normal law of the land if they are found guilty of wrongdoing. The OSDs could end up being made good, meaningful examples of. No one will take issue with the idea that any violation of civil service rules should be handled sternly, which is why it has always been our position that the civil service must always remain above politics because those who are part of it are servants of the republic rather than being errand boys for political parties holding power. In the recent past, the principle of the civil administration being non-political in character has all too often been blurred by those who have wielded power, of course in collusion with a group of self-seeking bureaucrats.

In the larger interest of the country, the civil service needs to keep above political influence of any shade or denomination in their field of work. It is a job that can be done through ensuring a strict return to the code of conduct on the basis of which civil servants must carry out their responsibilities to the state. Such an objective can be attained through taking to task anyone guilty of violating the code.