NITESH MATHEMA

There is a growing trend among politicians to mistreat government officials who refuse to bend to their whims.

The moment a party wins power, its leaders become ministers, get vehicles with the national flag on the hood and flaunt their new authority. This is exactly what happened when State Minister Begum slapped Parsa Chief District Officer Durga Prasad Bhandari in public.

When a person of a state minister's stature, who claims to protect the people, commits a shameless act like this she tarnishes the country's reputation as well as her own. If leading government employees or officers don't respect the law, they ought to be punished accordingly.

Minister Begum should be well aware of official decorum. The Home Ministry's statement following Tuesday's incident condemned her conduct as unbecoming of a state minister, and government employees have raised their voices too.

Minister Begum should admit her wrongdoing. It is important to punish political party and government leaders who abuse civil officers and ordinary citizens as if they were slaves.