The political authority handling posts and telecommunications the other day sent for the head of the biggest department coming under his purview.

The department head who dutifully appeared before the political authority, found the secretarial one of the Ministry too was seated opposite him. 

The political authority was in an ugly mood because the department head had been found remiss in carrying out certain instructions issued by him, and he wanted to teach the white collar one a lesson.  The dialogue that ensued ran as follows:

Political authority: “Why don’t you carry out my instructions?”
Department Head: “I did all I could do and didn’t do what I could not and should not do. That’s the truth, Sir.”

“Things you couldn’t do?  You cannot do whatever we ask you to do…But you happily carried out whatever the purohita of the previous regime asked you to do. When we ask you to do something, you throw the law books at us. I know well how things were going on in those days. If you eagerly carried out orders at that time, why are you adopting a different attitude now?”

“Governments may change, Sir, but we can’t change the way of doing things to suit those in power. As a matter of fact, the political authority and the secretary of the previous regime never asked us to do anything illegal.  They never issued instructions that ran counter to the law either. They asked us to do things we could do and we happily did those things!”

“Do you say that we are giving you wrong instructions and asking you to do things you should not do?”

“All I can say is that I have always carried out all your instructions legally okay...”

“Well, I did not send for you to have an argument with you…I’ll see what I can do…Now you may go!”
The department head walks back to his desk unruffled.