Tamilnadu in the Flag Day Fund Collection Overdrive?

From: Mrs. Usha Sundar, W/o Lt Col CR Sundar (Retd) dated 01 Nov 2012 from Chennai
To: The Collector, Kanchipuram District.
IRREGULARITIES IN RESPECT OF FLAG DAY FUND COLLECTION IN REGIONAL TRANSPORT OFFICES (RTO) OF TAMIL NADU
Sir,
1. I have attached herewith a copy of an article published in the popular Tamil Weekly ‘Anandha Vikatan’ dated 24/10/2012.
2. There are serious allegations against all RTOs of Tamil Nadu in the said article. As per the article the RTO’s are indulging in a ‘collection spree’ called ‘flag charge’. Instead of the stipulated Rs 36/- they extort Rs. 250/- for a two-wheeler and Rs. 500/- for a four-wheeler. For grant of ‘fitness certificates’ (FC) the rate is Rs. 500/- for medium sized vehicles, Rs. 750/- for buses and lorries and Rs. 1,000/- for heavier vehicles. These rates are for non-defective vehicles. Defective vehicles are charged double.
3. As a member of the public I am very concerned. But as the wife of a retired Army Officer I am pained and angry.
4. Flag Day Fund was set up in 1949 by the Defence Minister’s Committee. In 1993 the Defence Ministry of India consolidated all related welfare funds into Armed Forces Flag Day Fund. Its purposes are Rehabilitation of battle casualties, Welfare of serving personnel and their families and Resettlement and welfare of Ex Servicemen and their families. Fund collection is managed throughout the country by the local arms of Kendriya Sainik Boards (KSB).
5. RTOs of Tamil Nadu are not collection agencies. But they are collecting huge amounts throughout the year and misusing the funds.
6. You as the collector are aware that Ex Servicemen are a deprived lot, and find it very hard to survive in the civilian world.. Every year 7 Dec is commemorated as ‘Flag Day’ and certain formalities are conducted in every DSSA Board in the state .Money is collected in their cause but one never gets to hear anything about the amounts collected, or the ways in which these funds were distributed (if at all) among ESM. We request you to verify the report and take necessary action against the culprits involved.
7. Ex Servicemen are treated with the highest honour and respect elsewhere in the world.. Here in India, especially in Tamil Nadu we are told that State- run offices and officers are looting the general public in the name of those Veterans who gave the best years of their life in the defence of their motherland. It is the ultimate treachery.
8. The ‘Serving Fraternity of officers and the Ministry of Defence’ and the Retired Generals living in Tamil Nadu must work together to stop this sort of Disrespect and Dishonour to the Ex Servicemen and their dependents and widows. Thank You,
Yours faithfully,
Sd/- (Ms.Usha Sundar)
Copy to:
1. The Asst Dir, DSSA Board Tambaram.
2. The AFA, Air Force Station Tambaram.
3. GOC, ATNK&K Area Chennai.
4. The Editor, Anandha Vikatan, Chennai.
Comment: Thalsidar Offices who hand out death certificates are also involved in this racket. There is no control over these State Agencies who are in the money spinning mode and cheating the poor citizens of India into believing these funds are helping Ex Servicemen!

Conspiracy of Silence breeds Corruption

Conspiracy of silence by all political leaders on corruption: Former CJI JS Verma
POLITICS NEWS, Updated Oct 28, 2012 at 08:27am IST
Karan Thapar, CNN-IBN
New Delhi: Former Chief Justice of India, JS Verma has hit out at the political class saying that politicians are colluding with each other against the fight to end corruption. While speaking to Karan Thapar on this week's Devil's Advocate, he accused the politicians of conspiring to tolerate corruption at the highest level. Below is an excerpt of the interview:
Karan Thapar: Congress General Secretary Digvijaya Singh said to this programme just a week ago that he was aware of things done by Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee's foster son-in-law, Mr LK Advani's children which would not only embarrass their parents but were, he said, equivalent to corruption and wrongdoing. Yet he also insisted he would never reveal what he knew. What you make of that position?
ustice JS Verma: Well, that is a very disturbing statement. It reveals if true a conspiracy at the top against the combating of corruption which people are talking all the time and it shows that political morality is at its lowest ebb. Karan Thapar: But what about Mr Digvijaya's point that it is not ethical to target the children of families of politicians if they themsleves are not in politics. Justice JS Verma: Anyone in a position to influence decision making should be above suspicion.
Karan Thapar: These same ethics determined the silence of the BJP in March 2011 when the economic times first revealed Rober Vadra's DLF connections and the manner in which, the dramatic manner in which his companies fortunes had ballooned. At that time the BJP decided that it would not be ethical and proper to speak about Sonia Gandhi's son-in-law. Now in that instance was that wise discretion on the BJP's part or wrongful silence.
Justice JS Verma: It was failure of duty because, you see, personalities don't matter. According to me, the higher you are in hierarchy the more strict standard of behaviour you have to answer to.
Karan Thapar: So would you also go one step further and say - given on one hand Mr Digvijaya Singh's ethics and behaviour and given on the other the BJP's initial silence over Vadra - that the impression that is created is that politicians behave like a brotherhood which colludes to protect each other and sometimes colludes to cover up for each other.
Justice JS Verma: It would indicate or reveal a conspiracy of silence to tolerate corruption at the highest level.
Conspiracy of silence by all political leaders on corruption: Former CJI JS Verma

High Court raps Army: Officer Courts a Sri Lankan

Karnataka HC to Indian Army: Stop coming in the way of lovers like khaps do
by FP Staff Oct 31, 2012
This story could well be fodder for a sizzling silver screen romance, only the Karnataka High Court nipped the Indian Army’s opposition of two young lovers in the bud.
A Bangalore-based major who fell in love with a Sri Lankan student studying in the same city ran into trouble after the defence establishment got suspicious of his and his lover’s motives. In fact, according to a Times of India report the Army ordered an ‘investigation’ into Major Vikas Kumar’s ”purpose behind coming in contact with a foreign national”.
When Kumar, in order to get married to the 29-year-old Sri Lankan student, tried quitting from the service as the Army rules don’t allow serving officers to marry foreign nationals, his superiors refused to relieve him of his duties citing ‘staff crunch’. That is when he moved court.
A bench headed by chief justice Vikramjit Sen at the Karnataka High Court then rapped the Army saying that their bid to stop the lovers from being together is khap panchayat-like.
The TOI report says: Displeased with the arguments of the government counsel, Justice Sen observed: “This is not a khap panchayat, this is the Army.” He also said, “We can’t understand the Army’s stand at all. This is most unfortunate for the man. One of India’s Presidents, also the commander-in-chief of the armed forces, was married to a foreigner.” (A reference to K R Narayanan who was married to Ma Tint Tint of Myanmarese origin). Karnataka HC to Indian Army: Stop coming in the way of lovers like khaps do

Rajat Gupta lands two-year jail for insider trading

Former Goldman Sachs chief Rajat Gupta lands two-year jail for insider trading
Published: Thursday, Oct 25, 2012, 2:37 IST
Place: Manhattan | Agency: PTI
Former Goldman Sachs director Rajat Gupta was today sentenced to two years in prison and fined $5 million by a US judge, months after the Indian-American Wall Street titan was found guilty of leaking boardroom secrets to a hedge fund manager in the largest insider trading case in the country's history.
Gupta, 63, was handed down a two-year prison term by US district court judge Jed Rakoff, who also ordered him to pay a $5 million fine. Gupta, reading from a statement, said: "The last 18 months have been the most challenging period of my life since I lost my parents as a teenager."
"I regret terribly the impact of this matter on my family, my friends and the institutions that are dear to me. I've lost my reputation I built for a lifetime. The verdict was devastating," he said.
"His conduct has forever tarnished a once-sterling reputation that took years to cultivate," Manhattan's top federal attorney India-born Preet Bharara said.
Gupta was found guilty by a federal court in Manhattan on four counts, out of six on June 15 after a three-week trial for passing boardroom secrets to the now imprisoned billionaire hedge fund founder Raj Rajaratnam at the height of the global financial crisis. The prosecution had sought a prison term of 8-10 years for Gupta who was convicted in a closely followed trial on three counts of securities fraud and one count of conspiracy.
The sentencing of India Inc's Wall Street poster boy by US district judge Jed Rakoff comes exactly a year after Bharara filed insider trading charges against the former McKinsey head.
Gupta, the most high profile Wall Street executive to be convicted in the government's crackdown on insider trading, had sought leniency from the judge, citing his otherwise unblemished career and philanthropic works. In a memorandum filed in federal court last week, Gupta's lawyer Gary Naftalis had sought probation for his Harvard educated client, saying Gupta is willing to live in Rwanda and work with the local government on health care and agricultural initiatives.
The second offer of community service made by Naftalis was that Gupta could work with Covenant House's New York site, which provides emergency shelter and other services for homeless, runaway and at risk youth. Bharara had sought a prison term of 8-10 years for Gupta, arguing that his "shocking" crimes were not an "isolated occurrence or a momentary lapse in judgement and a "significant term of imprisonment is necessary to reflect the seriousness of Gupta's crimes and to deter other corporate insiders in similar positions of trust from stealing corporate secrets and engaging in a crime that has become far too common".
The Diwali of 2011 saw Gupta surrender himself before the FBI after charges of insider trading were filed against him. The rise and fall of Gupta, who went from being one of the most successful India-born businessmen in the US to being called "deceptive and dishonest" after his conviction, has been the stuff of legends.
Gupta's rise through the ranks of Corporate America was stellar with enviable posts like board seats at Goldman Sachs and Procter and Gamble, co-founder of the prestigious Indian School of Business, adviser to the executive leadership of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation as also the United Nations dotting his resume.
Gupta was also a director of the AMR Corporation, the parent company of American Airlines. The Rockefeller Foundation appointed him a trustee; he was named special adviser on management reform to then UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan and additionally served on the UN Commission on the Private Sector and Development and was co-chairman of the United Nations Association of America.
Gupta had also been getting support from family members, prominent business leaders and global philanthropic figures including Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates and former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, who are among the 400 people who have written letters to Rakoff detailing Gupta's charitable work.
Gupta had pleaded not guilty to the charges and argued during his trial that he personally did not trade nor made any profits from the insider information he was accused of passing on to Rajaratnam, who is currently serving an 11 year prison term after being convicted last year.
After the guilty verdict was announced in June against Gupta, Bharara had said Gupta achieved remarkable success and stature, but he threw it all away. "Rajat Gupta once stood at the apex of the international business community. He stands convicted of securities fraud. Having fallen from respected insider to convicted inside trader, Gupta has now exchanged the lofty board room for the prospect of a lowly jail cell," Bharara had said.
Rajat Gupta lands two-year jail for insider trading
Lessons for India: Justice should be swift for high profile scamsters in India. Hundreds of cases in the courts languishing for decades. Trials delayed by Political Criminals.

Senior Generals in the Corruption Brew

Audit exposes Rs 100 cr row in Army
WEDNESDAY, 24 OCTOBER 2012 00:07 PNS | NEW DELHI
Grappling with scams over the last few years, the Army is now faced with another controversy involving its top commanders allegedly involved in financial mismanagement while procuring critical items like bullet proof jackets, satellite phones and other operational equipment leading to losses of over Rs 100 crore in two years.
This fact came out in the internal audit carried out by the Defence Ministry which said scrutiny of 55 items procured indicated that basic procedure of purchasing item from original equipment manufacturer was not followed and the credentials of the contracted supplier was doubtful leading to possible security risk.
The audit report on “Exercise of delegated financial powers of Army Commanders” carried out in Northern and Eastern Command for the years 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 pointed out some operational items were possibly bought from the gray market. Moreover, in most of the cases delivery schedule was not adhered to and the Army did not levy penalty for late delivery, the 115-page report said.
The Government has sanctioned Rs 125 crore to Northern Army Commander, Rs 25 crore to Eastern Army chief and Rs 10 crore each to other four Army Commanders to buy operational equipment in case of any emergency so as to cut out delay in procurement.
However, delay in delivery of most of the items defeated the very purpose for which special funds were granted to the Army Commanders, the report said, adding the Commanders who are senior functionaries should not be burdened with the procurement functions.
The report said the loss to the exchequer due to mismanagement amounted to Rs 103.11 crore while procuring items like battlefield mine carrying package, all terrain vehicle, hand held radio sets, spares for bulldozers, avalanche rescue equipment, snow mobiles, mobile EPABX, avalanche air bag, avalanche victim detector, combat free fall parachutes, GPS, three ton trucks and diesel generator sets.
The report also questioned the loss of more than Rs 30 crore worth of milk procured for troops in the Northern Command and said the mismanagement led to wasteful expenditure. The report said while some commands and units had excess milk supply, some other units and commands did not have adequate milk supply.
Expressing concern over these losses, the audit suggested steps like procurement from centralised depots to cut down lengthy supply chain, procurement only from authorised vendors, stores to be bought for a period of three months and not more and introduction of checks and balances in commands.
Incidentally, the audit had conducted similar internal review of Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) and procurement of food for its troops by the Army. Following these audits, Defence Minister AK Antony last month asked all the departments of the Defence Ministry including the three Services to appoint financial advisors to oversee major procurements and prevent any legal bungling and mismanagement.
Audit exposes Rs 100 cr row in Army
Comment: The Local Purchase Powers of Formation Commanders need to be completely curbed or eliminated. The national Security is at stake when sub- standard and spurious stuff is palmed on to fighting troops. The paper work is so perfect it is difficult to catch the culprits. Remember all Generals are 9 pointers for honesty- the reason for this is because of the skewed ACR system in vogue. When dishonesty takes over the system there is no remedy!

Drunk Army Personnel offer cops a sip too

Drunk armymen offer cops a sip too 22/10/2012
It came as quite a shock to Kaushal Mahendrabhai, an on-duty cop, when two drunk army men offered his superior liquor.“Drink this and let us go. Don’t make a fuss” was what they said. They were caught by Mahendrabhai in an inebriated state near the entrance of the Vibrant Navratri festival at GMDC ground in Ahmedabad.
The jawans were identified as Bhomaram Chopal, 30, native of Dhimipur village in Rajasthan and Tanmay Kundu, 28, native of Shivgam in West Bengal. According to Vastrapur police, both of them are deployed in the 11th division at Shahibaug army camp.
Mahendrabhai, a lok rakshak of Vastrapur police, was deployed at GMDC ground. At around 10.30pm, he saw two persons creating a ruckus near the entrance to the ground. “Two jawans were misbehaving with visitors and teasing girls. When I confronted them, they abused me and claimed that they were from the army. However, they were not wearing uniforms and didn’t have any ID cards. Since they were drunk, they were taken to our control room and I called our superior officer, ML Makwana, a police inspector from Rajkot,” said Mahendrabhai.
When Makwana decided to arrest them for consuming liquor, the duo allegedly misbehaved with him as well and offered him liquor in exchange for letting them go. The cops called Vastrapur police and had the miscreants arrested. While searching them, cops found 200ml of liquor on Chopal and 300ml of liquor on Kundu. The liquor was stored in plastic bottles and kept in their pockets. Cops have also seized their army jeep and taken it to the police station.
In addition to being drunk, both gave their wrong name and cadre. They were caught when their superior officer, Subedar Kanwarsinh Chauhan, came to the police station with their ID cards. Apart from the complaint of consuming liquor, cops have filed a case of misleading police by furnishing false information against Chopal and Kundu.
-via DNA.
Drunk armymen offer cops a sip too

Army pays Fake Encounter victim's family Rs 10 Lakhs

1997 CUSTODIAL DISAPPEARANCE CASE
Army approaches HC with compensation money for victim’s family
Ishfaq Tantry Tribune News Service Srinagar, October 9, 2012
Complying with the court directions in a 1997 custodial disappearance case, the Army has approached the High Court Registry with a cheque of Rs 10 lakh as compensation to the victim’s family.
Azizi Begum (63), the mother of Mushtaq Ahmad Dar of the Bemina Boatman Colony in Srinagar, had alleged that her son was taken into custody by 20 Grenadiers Unit of the Army in April, 1997, and was not seen thereafter. She had approached the High Court and filed a habeas corpus petition which was finally disposed of in her favour on March 25, 2011. Holding 20 Grenadiers of the Army responsible for the “enforced disappearance” of Mushtaq, the High court had directed the Union Defence Secretary to pay her a compensation of Rs 10 lakh.
However, as the Defence Ministry failed to comply with the HC orders and did not pay the compensation amount, Azizi Begum approached the High Court with a contempt petition in December, 2011. Subsequently, the court on August 23 this year directed the Defense Ministry to deposit the said amount along with the interest in five weeks.
“On September 29, we approached the High Court Registry with a cheque of Rs 10 lakh plus the interest amount for depositing it with the bank,” the standing counsel for the Union of India, Karnail Singh Wazir, told The Tribune. “However, we were directed by the registry to file an application with the High Court for depositing the money as according to the registry, the due date for depositing the money was September 28,” he said, adding that afterwards, an application had been filed before the High Court, which was listed this week.
The court verdict, a first of its kind in any disappearance case, was based on an inquiry into the incident conducted by the Additional Sessions Judge, Srinagar, which had held the Army responsible for the “enforced disappearance” of Dar.
2011 COURT ORDERS: Holding 20 Grenadiers of the Army responsible for the “enforced disappearance” of Mushtaq Ahmad Dar, the High court had directed the Union Defense Secretary to pay the victim’s mother, Azizi Begum, a compensation of Rs 10 lakh.
Army approaches HC with compensation money for victim’s family

Media Cover for Ghosts and Corrupt Bureaucrats in MOD

Ref: Army HQ nod to foreign firm under scanner
India: Emergency Defense Purchase
Tue, 2012-10-09 00:38 — editor
News Comments By S.G.Vombatkere**
The front page news report of a reputed national daily on October 8, 2012, is headlined “Army HQ nod to foreign firm under scanner”. A picture of retired Gen V.K.Singh with the caption “Ex-Army chief initiated 'emergency purchase'” and the subtitle “$100 mn Tender – MoD finds Bulgarian firm not an original manufacturer; Russia complains”, clearly targets Army HQ.
The news item concerns emergency procurement of anti-aircraft gun ammunition allegedly through an irregular selection procedure.
This needs to be viewed in the context of the then Chief of the Army Staff (COAS) Gen V.K.Singh's April 2012 letter to the Prime Minister, in which he reported that there were military hardware obsolescence’s and deficiencies of ammunition and equipment seriously affecting the battle readiness of the army.
This letter got leaked to the media. Even though Gen V.K.Singh demanded that the source of the leak be punished because it is treasonable, and the Raksha Mantri (RM) said it is a “breach of national security”, bureaucrats in MoD/PMO are soft-pedaling investigation because the ghost that caused the leak is right there amongst them.
Among the questions that need to be asked are: “Why did Army HQ initiate emergency purchase of anti-aircraft (AA) ammunition?”; “Could not Army HQ have foreseen the requirement and projected it to MoD in the normal course?”; and, “Did glitches in procurement procedures result in inordinate delay and consequent shortage of AA ammunition, creating an emergency that would have serious operational repercussions?”.
Also, if there is a military engagement with another country, can any COAS simply pack up the AA guns and tell the PM or RM, 'You have not provided the ammunition'? It is well known that defense procurement procedures are bureaucrat-controlled and corruption is indulged in by those who are in control. This is not to absolve Army HQ or COAS of responsibility but to point out that the dominant role in all defense procurement is that of the MoD bureaucracy, specifically, the Defense Secretary.
It is only the COAS who would initiate emergency purchase precisely because that is the level of responsibility for national security. But the reporter apparently has not stopped to enquire why there was an emergency. Targeting Army HQ by oblique accusation of corruption has inadvertently provided cover to corrupt officials. In any case it would have been more appropriate to paste the Defense Secretary's picture with the news report.
Gen V.K.Singh's courageous, path-breaking and openly-declared condemnation of corruption among the nexus of corrupt bureaucrats and certain retired army officers, together with the unassailable honesty of RM A.K.Antony, have discomfited the MoD bureaucracy. Hence it is necessary for them to target Army HQ and Gen V.K.Singh to divert media glare away from them.
It is unfortunate that the media has been misled by information provided by MoD bureaucrats, without asking questions on the lines mentioned above. One sincerely hopes that there is no bureaucrat-media nexus in this case.
**S.G.Vombatkere served 35 years in the Indian army and retired with the rank of major general from the post of Additional DG in charge of Discipline and Vigilance in Army HQ, New Delhi. He is presently engaged in voluntary work and is a member of the National Alliance of People's Movements (NAPM) and People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL). Asian Tribune
India: Emergency Defense Purchase
Related reading
Lt Gen Bhatia to probe MI unit set up by ex-chief Gen V K Singh

Fake Encounters haunt the Army

Army forcing us to withdraw case against Gen Bikram Singh: NGO
Harinder Baweja, Hindustan Times
Srinagar, October 05, 2012
The army has been accused of putting pressure on the civil society in Kashmir to withdraw a PIL against its chief, General Bikram Singh.
YES Kashmir, an NGO, had approached the Jammu and Kashmir high court in October last year to raise the issue of an encounter that occurred in Janglat Mandi, Anantnag, in March 2001.
In the clash, Singh — then a brigadier posted in the Valley — suffered gunshot wounds while two army officials lost their lives.
According to the police, an alleged militant dressed as a beggar had approached Singh and opened fire. In the battle that ensued, the militant was killed.
The PIL, however, questions the police theory. A family had come forward in October 2011, claiming that it was their son Abdullah Bhat, an innocent bystander, who had been killed.
The timing of the PIL was questioned in military circles, with many seeing it as an attempt to narrow down Singh’s chances of becoming the army chief.
Soon after Singh took over as the chief of army staff, NGO head Khurshid Ahmed Mir approached the court once again and — in a sworn affidavit — claimed that the force was pressurising him.
Mir has now alleged in the affidavit that “officers of Sector–1 RR are pressurising me to help them withdraw the case by influencing relatives and the counsel for the petitioners… Since the case has turned out to be a high-profile one, I feel insecure in the hands of the army. They are repeatedly putting pressure on me, and can harm me and my family.”
The police had then closed the case, saying the beggar was actually Mateen Chacha — a Pakistan-trained Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist.
They are now refusing to produce a photograph of the ‘beggar’ or identify his grave, demands that the family has made through the PIL.
The board of officers inquiring into the funding of the controversial intelligence unit, constituted by former army chief Gen VK Singh, is now probing possible links between the ‘snoop unit’ and the NGO.
The inquiry notwithstanding, the petition can be embarrassing for the chief as well as the government, particularly if the court orders an investigation into the ‘fake encounter.’ The army declined to comment on the grounds that the inquiry was still on.
>Army forcing us to withdraw case against Gen Bikram Singh: NGO Comment: Fake Encounters and Gallantry Awards was a sure sign of Career Success for many Senior Officers. This short cut was fine tuned by AHQ from 1995 to 2007. When busted the reactions are for a cover up by all means... The AHQ CoI is waste of time. The Army is not designed for IS duties or Anti Insurgency ops. The designed role is only COMBAT- defensive and offensive.

Remembering Father of our Nation Mahatma Gandhi

Throughout his life, Mahatma Gandhi inspired countless Indians to lead a simple and principled life free of vices and desires. His message of non-violence that he practiced against the British rule in India has inspired many important world personalities. On Gandhi’s birth anniversary, Guylife presents a few important people who have been inspired by the Mahatma.

Aung San Suu Kyi
Prominent Burmese freedom fighter Aung San Suu Kyi has been heavily influenced by Gandhi’s life and teachings apart from Buddhist philosophy. Suu Kyi has been credited with ushering in reforms in Burma (now Myanmar) that is helping the country reach out to the world by removing sanctions placed against the country that is ruled by military junta. Suu Kyi has said she read works by Gandhi to keep herself disciplined when she was placed under house arrest by her country's military dictators.
Last week, addressing a packed hall of students at Columbia University where she got a standing ovation, the 67-year-old Nobel Peace Prize winner said she has been very inspired by Gandhi's writings and strongly urged the students to read his works. "Gandhi is somebody really phenomenal. I think you must all read his works, the more you read Gandhi, the more impressed you are by who he was and what he was. You must remember that change through non-violent means was not ever thought of before Gandhi. He was the one who started it, he was the one who decided that it is possible to bring about revolutionary change without violence," Suu Kyi said.
Leaders Inspired By Mahatma Gandhi by Priyanko Sarkar|Posted on Oct 1st 2012|
Comment: So sad to see our MP's living a lavishous life style at the expense of the tax payer. Their performance can be seen on daily basis through the Parliament session...

OROP: Ministers blow Rs 680 crore hole in the austerity plan

No money for "One Rank One Pension" for the Military- Critical Finances: Click here
Twelve-fold blow to UPA government's austerity plan as globe trotting ministers blow Rs 678 crore of taxpayers' money
By MAIL TODAY REPORTER
PUBLISHED: 21:19 GMT, 26 September 2012 | UPDATED: 22:23 GMT, 26 September 2012
The testing economic situation may be the time for austerity but try telling that to the UPA government's globe trotting ministers.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his ministers have blown Rs 678 crore of taxpayers' money on their travel in 2011-12 - which is more than 12 times spent during 2010-11, when it was Rs 56.1 crore, an RTI application filed by Delhi-based activist Subhash Chandra Agrawal has revealed.
The PM himself has been criss-crossing the globe in the past two years. Multi-lateral and bilateral visits have taken him from Moscow, the Maldives, and Afghanistan to New York, Bali and Cannes.
His South Block cabinet colleague - external affairs minister S.M. Krishna - also clocked up the air miles with 28 foreign trips - From New York, Islamabad, Beijing, Bali, Singapore and Australia to Israel and Palestine.
'The tours are for official purposes. At the age of 80, it should be appreciated that senior ministers can travel so much. These are not pleasure trips,' a South Block official said.
The reason for the quantum jump in expenditure is also because the ministers flew in chartered aircraft many times - for instance the Indian Air Force Embraer or the Air India airbus hired by the external affairs ministry for Krishna's visit to Pakistan.
Commerce minister Anand Sharma has logged eight visits to Switzerland, South Africa, Pakistan and France.
His senior colleague, defence minister A.K. Antony, logged six foreign tours during the last two years.
While former finance minister Pranab Mukherjee also travelled to six overseas destinations (including the US, Nepal, Vietnam and France), tourism minister Subodh Kant Sahai travelled to five destinations. The UPA allies are breathing fire. 'The ministers take family members and hangers-on at the taxpayers' expene. The government must give an account of this in Parliament,' Rajendra Chaudhary, SP spokesperson, said.
The Opposition, too, has rapped the government. While some of these trips can be justified because of official reasons, the government must introspect on the rising cost of these official tours.
Read more:
Twelve-fold blow to UPA government's austerity plan as globe trotting ministers blow Rs 678 crore of taxpayers' money

Rank Pay: Insult over Injury

Insult over Injury
In 1986, my responsibilities to my family were beginning to peak and I was looking forward to the Pay Commission. But some nasty chaps in the Government, by a sleight of hand, denied me 1/5th of my basic pay, Rs1000/- to be precise - a lot of money those days!
I was not even aware of this treachery as I trusted the Government. Maj AK Dhanapalan saw through it (God bless him). He first, and then others, Retired Defence Officers Association (RDOA) in the forefront, fought in Courts, long and steadfast, with their money and the Government fought back, with our money, with resilience and determination, appealing perpetually against court verdicts, to do down the fellows who are all up to save them.
The Apex Court finally directed to pay all those affected, the arrears with 6% interest from 01 Jan 1986 onwards. The Government pleaded that it is poor (it has to be, after all these scams) and the Court waived off interest for the first 20 years!
It is not possible to compensate for the lost opportunities of our families but payment of the interest would, at least, have been a token recognition of the wrongs done to us, some compensation for our deprivations and humiliations, particularly when it was not due to a mistake. It was not even mere mischief. It was treachery, born out of arrogance and assurance of impunity. The very least that should have been done was to treat the amount due as a recurring deposit, the maturity amount reinvested at Postal rates, periodically. Therefore, the Court was benevolent to impose only 6% of interest to start with, but the crocodile tears of the Government made it deprived us, the victims, 20 years (no less!) of the already low interest!
Further, the initiating culprit should have been ordered to be identified and he, along with all the superiors who dealt with and finalized ‘the stab in the back’ to the people who protect the Country (them included) at the cost of their lives, to be punished.
What sort of justice is this? The perpetrators of the crime and their protectors not only go scot free but also evoke sympathy of the court! We, the sufferers, having waited for decades, are now left down in the ditch. All those criminals must be caught, their pay or pensions should be forfeited and if necessary their properties should be confiscated to pay us, the fair amount.
But that is ‘day dreaming’ or is it ‘crying in the wilderness’? What can you expect from this bunch? Now, if I cheat the Government and get caught, I should be able to plead for reduction in payment, of at least the penalty amount, as paying that much money would hurt me terribly. A precedent has been set. Applicability should be universal.
Col BN Ratha(Retd)

NDA Scam: CBI tight lipped

CBI grills former NDA commandant for 2 days
Published: Wednesday, Sep 19, 2012, 13:55 IST
By DNA Correspondent | Place: Pune | Agency: DNA
Former commandant of the National Defence Academy (NDA), Lt General Jatinder Singh, was grilled by a team of Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) officials in the NDA job scam case for the second consecutive day on Tuesday.
Lt Gen Singh was the NDA commandant when a Rs2 crore scam in the recruitment of class III and IV officers came to light in July.
Lt Gen Singh was later transferred to the Army Headquarters as a staffer.
The CBI officials, however, were tight-lipped about the outcome of the interrogations. Superintendent of CBI-Anti Corruption Bureau (ACB) Rajkumar Vhatkar said, “We have been interrogating Lt Gen Singh for the last two days. We questioned him on various aspects of the case from 10 am on Tuesday till late evening. We cannot disclose what was the outcome of the questioning. Information about the revelations will be included in the chargesheet which will be submitted to the court.”
The CBI-ACB had already arrested eight people including two serving Colonels in the case. The arrested people include Colonel Kulbir Singh, Colonel AK Singh, Suhas Waghmare, Manoj Shitkal, Dattatray Shitkal, Balkishan Kanojia, Vishnu Sharma and Ramesh Gaikwad. All the arrested people have been granted bail.
CBI grills former NDA commandant for 2 days
Comment: CBI is famous for cover ups. This is a straight case where bribes were taken under the command of NDA Commandant- without his knowledge such scale of scam in Military parlance cannot be executed.

Illegally acquired surveillance equipment to monitor Indians

DNA exclusive: PMO knew you were being snooped upon
Published: Monday, Sep 17, 2012, 10:00 IST
By Saikat Datta & Pradip R Sagar | Place: New Delhi | Agency: DNA
The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) and the national security advisor (NSA) allowed an agency, not permitted under the law, to acquire surveillance equipment and monitor Indians between 2010 and 2011.
An investigation by DNA shows the NSA, Shiv Shankar Menon, knew that the defence intelligence agency (DIA), a tri-service organisation drawing personnel from the army, the navy and the air force, was keen to purchase off-the-air cell phone monitoring equipment.
Not only was the DIA not authorised to tap phones of Indians, but it also did not have the approval of the technical coordination group (TCG), chaired by the NSA. Despite these legal and procedural lapses, documents accessed by DNA show that the DIA went ahead and procured the equipment while the NSA, the PMO and the defence ministry looked the other way.
In the absence of any independent monitoring of intelligence agencies in India, no one knows how these machines have been used.
They could have been used illegally to tap phones and gather political intelligence or even monitor people.
The TCG was created after the Kargil war to ensure coordinated intelligence gathering. As per its charter, all purchases of technical intelligence equipment above Rs20 crore must be cleared by the TCG. The NSA is the chairman of the TCG and the technical intelligence agency’s, NTRO, chairman is its member secretary.
In the 9th meeting of the TCG, LtGen DS Chauhan, who was then the director general of DIA, had put up a note on August 10, 2011, seeking the TCG’s approval for the purchase of 26 off-the-air GSM monitoring machines, six off-the-air CDMA monitoring equipment, and five GSM jammers.
But on August 12, the TCG pointed out in the DIA’s inventory that one CDMA and four GSM-cell phone monitoring equipment had already been bought.
How did the DIA buy these without the TCG’s approval or even the legal framework to buy such machines?
These cell phone monitoring machines have a limited range depending on the terrain and the weather. So, why was the DIA allowed to buy such machines since it is mandated to gather technical intelligence with limited human intelligence in insurgency-prone areas? In either case it is not a “notified law enforcement agency”, which is mandatory for phone tapping.
This was brought to the notice of the NSA as well as cabinet secretary Ajit Seth, defence secretary Sashi Kant Sharma, and joint secretary in the PMO Pankaj Saran.
No one objected and the DIA continued to illegally monitor people using unauthorised equipment.
The PMO did not respond to a written questionnaire from DNA. LtGen (Retd) Tejinder Singh, who as the director general of DIA before LtGen Chauhan, told DNA that the procedure to purchase these equipment started much before him.
“In either case, the purchase was sanctioned at every level — from financial advisors to the director general (acquisitions), who is currently the defence secretary,” the retired lieutenant general told DNA.
“Anyway, the signals directorate, which purchased the equipment, comes under the DIA for operational purposes. All their procurements must be approved by the defence ministry and not the director general of DIA because he does not have the financial powers to do so.”
Despite the fact the government hasn’t notified DIA as an “authorised” agency for phone tapping, the official spokesman of the defence ministry, Sitanshu Kar, said no “illegality” had taken place. “We find your statement calumnious. The defence secretary, as DG (acquisitions) had not sanctioned, at any stage, any illegal purchase of any equipment,” Kar said.
Phone tapping in India is governed by the December 18, 1996, judgment of the Supreme Court and section 5 of the Indian Telegraph Act that says phone tapping is legal only if it is authorised by the Union home secretary.
Only nine agencies are legally authorised to put in requests for tapping phones. Which means any government or private agency besides these nine agencies are not authorised to keep tabs on any form of communication in the country, let alone put in a request to the Union home secretary.
The IB, the R&AW, the income tax department, the enforcement directorate, the narcotics control bureau and the state police forces are among the nine authorised agencies.
DNA exclusive: PMO knew you were being snooped upon

SC quashes HC's gag order on troops movement

SC quashes HC's gag order on reporting troops movement
Friday, September 14, 2012, 16:29
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday quashed the Allahabad High Court order which had prevented media from reporting on the controversy related to alleged Army units' movement towards Delhi on January 16 amid the then prevailing row over erstwhile Army Chief V K Singh's date of birth.
A bench of justices H L Dattu and C K Prasad allowed the plea of Press Council of India which had challenged the order saying that court cannot impose such a ban on media as it violates the freedom of speech.
The bench said the high court erred in passing such order as ban on media was not sought and the prayer was only to hold an inquiry into the controversial incident.
"We are of the opinion that the high court should not have passed the order as the prayer before it was entirely different and it was inconsonance with the prayer made by the petitioner," the bench said.
The court also took into account its recent Constitution bench judgement which had said press can only be directed to postpone the reporting for a certain period.
The Centre also said it was against the high court's order and it should be quashed.
The high court had directed various Central and state government authorities on April 10 "to ensure that there is no reporting/release of any news item by the print or electronic media on the movement of troops."
The high court's order was passed on a PIL which said a national daily and a news magazine had reported on movements of the Army units from Agra to Delhi when the Singh's age row controversy was at peak. The petitioner had said the reports were against national interest.
The PCI had approached the apex court saying the order was in violation of the fundamental right under Article 19(1) (a) of the Constitution, granted to the media and every citizen of the country.
SC quashes HC's gag order on reporting troops movement
Business Standard report

Dearness Allowance fails to keep pace with Galloping Inflation

Diesel dearer by Rs 5/litre, 6-refill cap on LPG subsidy
Swaraj Thapa : New Delhi, Fri Sep 14 2012, 01:43 hrs
Biting the fuel price hike bullet, the Manmohan Singh government today decided to increase diesel prices by Rs 5 per litre but left kerosene and petrol prices untouched. In a bid to partially plug the subsidy hole owing to cooking gas, the government also decided to limit the number of subsidised gas cylinders to six per household per year. The unsubsidised market rate will add up to Rs 746 per cylinder. These decisions were taken at a meeting of the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs (CCPA) this evening. Both Trinamool Congress representative and Railway Minister Mukul Roy as well as DMK representative and Chemicals and Fertilisers Minister M K Alagiri skipped the meeting.
The decision to hike diesel prices came even as a Cabinet meeting tomorrow is set to give the long awaited push to the UPA’s reforms agenda by easing FDI norms in civil aviation, power and broadcasting sectors, besides moving proposals to divest equity in seven state-run companies.
Diesel, domestic LPG and PDS kerosene rates have not been changed since June 2011. While the Congress core group cleared the fuel price hike at its meeting last Tuesday, the party also seems to have succeeded in narrowing down differences with allies on its economic policies.
Even as the TMC and DMK skipped the CCPA meeting today, there were indications that the two allies may have agreed not to rock the boat although they would publicly oppose the fuel hike. To this extent, the scope of a partial reduction in diesel prices is not being ruled out.
The Centre is bracing for an attack from the Opposition BJP and Left parties as well as the SP and BSP.
But significantly, the government seems to be finally moving on the reforms and economy front, especially after the battering it has been facing on the coal block allocations controversy.
At the Cabinet meeting tomorrow, the government is set to take up crucial decisions aimed at increasing FDI inflows in civil aviation, power and broadcasting sectors. FDI in civil aviation, which has been opposed by the Trinamool Congress, will allow foreign airlines to pick up stake in Indian carriers, helping cash-strapped airlines like Kingfisher.
The government also proposes to hike the FDI limit in cable and DTH carriage services from the current 49 per cent to 74 per cent.
The third proposal is to allow FDI in running of electricity exchanges in the country. The Cabinet will also consider proposals for disinvestment in seven PSUs, including National Aluminium Limited Company (NALCO), RITES, Neyveli Lignite, Hindustan Copper, Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) and Mines and Minerals Trading Corporation (MMTC).
If the reforms are approved tomorrow, government managers hinted that the ambitious proposal to allow FDI in retail — another issue on which the Trinamool Congress does not see eye to eye with the Congress — may also be taken up in the coming weeks. Diesel dearer by Rs 5/litre, 6-refill cap on LPG subsidy

Intoxication is a social evil and GRP on duty must be prohibited from consuming liquor

COPS-SOLDIERS CLASH
Police to move court for custody of Army men
Military Police team visits Kathua rly station, begins probe
Tribune News Service Jammu, September 12, 2012
A day after registering an FIR against Army men, including two officers, following a clash at the Kathua railway station, the police has decided to approach court to get the custody of the personnel whose names figured in the report.
Sources said senior police officers felt that it was not possible for them to get the custody of those “involved” in assaulting the policemen and ransacking the police station so they had decided to approach the court.
Meanwhile, a team of the Military Police today visited the Kathua railway station and started investigations into the case.
The Defence PRO, however, issued a handout and clarified the Army’s position in the incident.
“Two jawans from the Army were proceeding on leave from the Kathua railway station. While waiting for the train around 9:30 pm at the railway station, one of the jawans went to charge the battery of his mobile phone from a plug point installed in the alleyway located at the entrance of the railway station. Immediately, a General Railway Police person came and started abusing the Army jawan and asked him why he charged his phone from the plug point. The jawan immediately apologised and removed his mobile phone,” the handout stated, adding, “The GRP person, who was visibly in a drunken state, used unparliamentary language and hit the jawan with his rifle butt. On being pushed by the Army jawan, the GRP person called his colleagues present at the railway station. All of them started beating up the Army jawan and dragged him to the GRP office at the railway station.”
While the Army jawan was being dragged by GRP personnel, he screamed for help. A local boy then alarmed the other jawan, who was waiting for his train at the station. The jawan immediately went towards the GRP personnel and asked them to stop beating up his unit colleague and also asked them why they were beating him up. The GRP personnel abused him also and tried to drag him inside the GRP office. However, he managed to escape and immediately called up his unit, the handout stated.
“The abducted jawan was severely beaten by over 15 GRP personnel with rifle butts, belts and sticks. Around 10:15 pm, when representatives from the Army reached the location, all the GRP personnel had left the scene except a head constable and a constable who were in their office. On being inquired about the incident and reasons for beating up the Army jawan, the head constable did not respond and refused to give contact numbers of his superiors to whom the Army representatives wanted to speak,” the handout said.
The Army representatives waited for one and a half hour for the GRP authorities, but nobody turned up. Finally, the Army representatives asked the GRP personnel to accompany them to the Kathua police station to which the head constable agreed.
“What is important is that no police station was ransacked, the alleged kidnapping of GRP men did not take place, as the head constable willingly accompanied the Army personnel to lodge an FIR and no GRP personnel were thrashed or beaten up as alleged in few media reports. The charges levelled against the Army are totally baseless,” the handout stated.
Police to move court for custody of Army men
Comment: It is common knowledge that Police in the Railway Stations (GRP) are drunk on duty. There is no one to monitor their indiscipline. Moreover their general behavior towards citizens is not friendly. This episode needs to be probed and culprits brought to book. Blaming the Army personnel for misbehavior is ridiculous.

Indian Politicians become intolerant to Jokes and Cartoons

An Indian cartoonist has been jailed for his drawings highlighting government corrruption. Aseem Trivedi has been charged with sedition for his cartoons that mock the Indian government. His supporters say the decision is evidence of political leaders' growing intolerance of criticism and the freedom of expression. Gerald Tan has more.
Scamsters and money launderers are free in India but a cartoonist who drew funny pictures is in Jail... This is height of Jokes in India.
He's a cartoonist. A political cartoonists job is to mock the corrupt and powerful. I was wondering what cartoons could be so horrible that they might get him in trouble and I was shocked that the cartoons are actually utterly innocuous. He used "national symbols" because he believes, rightly apparently, that the corrupt are raping the nation itself. His arrest proves that he wasn't exaggerating. It proves his innocence and the government's guilt. He has won.

Truth is Bitter: India is enveloped with Corruption

Former Army chief General V K Singh today rued that corruption was prevalent everywhere in the country and was eating into its vitals.
"Corruption has spread like cancer to eat into the vitals of the country ... It is everywhere," he told a national conference on 'Eradication of Corruption : Social Responsibility and Challenge' here.
"The scourge has become so pervasive that it has become quite legitimate for a person to say give me money, I will give you work," Singh said adding that it pained him when he compared the present situation to the time when legendary freedom fighter Subhash Chandra Bose exhorted countrymen to fight for freedom with his call - 'Give me blood, I will give you freedom'.
Black money was another issue dogging the country and corrupt persons have stashed their huge ill got wealth in foreign shores, the former Army chief said.
The black money stashed abroad was so big in size that the country could fast-track development of infrastructure and provide civil amenities to its citizens if it could be brought back.
"The onus is on all of us to fulfil three dreams of the freedom fighters - freedom from colonial rule, equality to all citizens and founding of a socio-political and economic system based on equity and justice," he said and appealed for unity in society and consensus in decision-making process.
"It is imperative for all of us to strive for unity as we must not forget that foreigners had invaded our country and ruled us for centuries taking advantage of prevailing disunity time and again," he said.
Singh, who retired three months ago, slammed attempts to cast aspersion on the institution of armed forces saying the critics should remember that the army was the last resort of security of the country.
Vested interests, including the arms suppliers lobby had attacked the army for prevalence of corruption among other issues, the former army chief said.
He rued the absence of consensus among mainstream political parties on governance issues and said most of them were gripped by internal dissension that created further complications in arriving at consensual decision-making process.
"It will not be an understatement to say that our democratic polity and foundations of our republic are in serious crisis," he observed and said the problems must be understood and rectified to take the nation-building process forward.
Former Army Chief V K Singh sees corruption 'everywhere'

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