The Delhi Chief Minister Arvijnd Kejriwal on Friday interacted with the group of 50 successful Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) candidates of this year to congratulate for being selected in the most elite services of the country.

Congratulating the students Kejriwal asked the students ‘don’t be a slave of the written word. “I have observed that a lot of officers become slaves of the written word. Laws are made to serve people, not the other way around. If there is more than one interpretation of law, then take the one that benefits the people,” said Kejriwal.

Sharing his experiences while he was serving in Indian Revenue Services, Kejriwal said, “All of you are bright students, doctors, engineers, chartered accountants. I was also a bureaucrat. I was an IRS officer from the 1992 batch. I began my service in 1995, before I quit more than a decade later. I am in a different profession now; I wanted to share a few observations with you.”

“Why is it that you are joining the civil services? What is your motivation? This is the first question you’re asked in the interview. And almost a 100 per cent of the candidates respond that they’re joining the services to the serve the nation. If this were indeed true, the country would’ve reached great heights by now in 70 years after independence,” he said adding bureaucrats have extraordinary powers and those who want to achieve something for the country have a very big opportunity to do that.

“All of us have a privileged background. Take my education for example. I studied at IIT Kharagpur where my fee at that time was Rs 32 a month. It’s obvious that engineering education cannot cost just Rs 32, so just imagine the level of subsidy my education at IIT involved. Similarly, whether it is to become a doctor, engineer or anything else, our education is heavily subsidized by the people of this country.

The country has contributed a lot in our education,” said the CM.

The Chief Minister said, “Now that you are joining the services, the country is taking the responsibility for your entire life. From your car, home, job, facilities to your post retirement, until your death, the country will take care of you. The country expects something in return. You have to give back two to three times of that back to the country.”

Referring to young UPSC successful candidates, Kejriwal said, “We all join with a lot of idealism. More than 90% of us join with idealism, but over time we become part of the system. That is something which is wrong.

Life should be exciting and these services do give you a lot of excitement. You will have infinite opportunities to do something, whether you join the IAS, IPS, and IRS.”

Often, the bureaucracy has a tendency to delay people’s work, so that their importance in the system grows. When you do that, you might become more important for people, but you will not earn their respect. People will step out of your office and curse you. I know some bureaucrats who serve the people in such a way, that people mourn their transfers. They protest against the transfer of such officers. Aspire to become officers who are loved by the people. That will only happen when you serve the people, the Chief Minister said.