Administrative officers belonging to IAS, OAS and OFS service associations took serious note of Union Petroleum Minister Dharmendra Pradhan’s remarks against a senior IAS officer at a function and petitioned Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik on Tuesday, asking him to take up the matter at the appropriate level.

A delegation of the three separate associations submitted letters to the CM, detailing how they were being attacked at the field level. “This is increasing and is unconstitutional,” they said.

The BJP has been in the thick of the storm as senior leaders and ministers like Pradhan have repeatedly been targeting bureaucrats in the recent past. The party had named five officers of the CMO and a few police officers, alleging they were functioning like BJD party workers and even distributing tickets, directing election campaigns and so on.

The BJP had even petitioned the Election Commission in this regard.

A few months ago, BJP workers stormed into the residence of an IAS officer K Pandian and hurled cow dung. The police arrested eight BJP workers. Even then the IAS association had held a meeting to condemn the incident and sought intervention of the CM.

Today, the three service associations took exception to Pradhan’s jibes at the NDC inauguration on Monday in the presence of Union Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad.

Pradhan repeatedly named IAS officer Ashok Meena and asked him to tell officers above that they should not resort to unethical practices of trying to undermine the central government. “It is not done, morphed photographs, insertion of names on social media platform to claim credit is unacceptable,” Pradhan had said, while repeatedly requesting Meena to try and desist from such practices.

Meena, however, did not react. “I am not a politician, had I been one I would have,” he later said.

But on Tuesday, the IAS Association took up the matter and told the CM that targeting of bureaucrats was unbecoming of the political executive and is unconstitutional.

“Division of power between the political executive and permanent executive is the bedrock of administrative framework. Both organs have to work in tandem to achieve maximum good for maximum people. The Constitution provides adequate safeguards and ensures that both wings of the government enjoy the power determined by it with dignity,” said the letter petition.

“Recent episodes in Odisha and other parts of the country where officers, while discharging duties, have been personally attacked by members of political executive which is a direct attempt to defy Constitutional values,” it said.

Such incidents have vitiated the working atmosphere and demoralised officers, it said.