Ex-servicemen status for retired paramilitary troops

Ex-servicemen status for retd paramilitary troops
Deeptiman Tiwary, TNN | Nov 2, 2012, 01.41AM IST
NEW DELHI: In the run up to Himachal Pradesh assembly and an eye on 2014 parliamentary polls, the government has decided to extend ex-servicemen benefits to retired central paramilitary personnel. The move will please 17 lakh serving and retired personnel from the forces, who were treated like any other government employee.
The Cabinet on Thursday passed a proposal moved by the home ministry to declare retired personnel from Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF) as "ex-central police personnel" and extend them several benefits that ex-servicemen from the armed forces get.
Like former servicemen, now the retired paramilitary forces personnel will get quota in jobs, higher education for their wards and attendant medical benefits. However, they won't be eligible for certain Central government benefits such as preferential allotment of petrol pumps and gas agency as the Centre has put financial burden of the development entirely on states.
They will also not share the quota of ex-servicemen from defence forces, but have separate reservations as decided by different states.
The move has come at a time when Himachal Pradesh, which sends a large number of its men to various forces, is facing elections. And with general elections only a year and a half away, the policy decision will bring cheer to over seven lakh retired paramilitary personnel across the country apart from nine lakh serving in various forces such as CRPF, BSF, SSB, ITBP and CISF.
The government also hopes the move will help bring attrition in the forces down. Around 44,000 personnel have resigned from paramilitary forces since 2009 due to stressful conditions of work and lack of medical benefits.
Though the proposal for these benefits was made in 2010 itself, home minister Sushil Kumar Shinde announced its passing by the Cabinet in quite a dramatic fashion. While attending a CRPF function on Thursday morning, he said, "I am moving a proposal in the Cabinet to grant retired paramilitary personnel the status of ex-servicemen. Paramilitary personnel, like defence forces, put their life at stake in the line of duty and there is no problem in granting them this honour."
Four hours later, at function organized by CISF, the minister said, "I had announced at the CRPF function about granting ex-servicemen status to retired paramilitary men. After that I went to attend the Cabinet meeting and the Cabinet approved the proposal. These personnel will be called as 'ex-central police personnel' on the same footing as ex-servicemen in the defence forces."
The forces, in particular their retired personnel, have a mixed reaction. P S Nair, general secretary of All India Central Paramilitary Forces Ex-servicemen Welfare Association, said, "We have been struggling for this for the past several years. We are happy it has come now. It will make us eligible for 60-65 benefits given to ex-servicemen by states. However, this is not enough. We also want one-rank-one-pension like the Army. We are doing a gherao of the CGO Complex on November 21 to press for our demands."
Ex-servicemen status for retd paramilitary troops
Hindu: Ex-servicemen status for retired paramilitary personnel

Good Governance: MP's and Gandhi Jayanthi

The worst thing about indian Judiciary and politicians is that corrupt MP's are never ever convicted and their cases never end. Shame on Indian Parliamentarians who try to sabotage honest uprising against their corrupt deeds.
The criminalization of politics continues to be a very big concern, with an increase in the number of MPs with criminal records from 128 to 150. Even the number of MPs with serious criminal cases has gone up. The biggest reason for this seems to be the undemocratic and autocratic selection and nomination of candidates by political parties. In order to ensure the winnability of candidates, parties ignored honesty to give preference to muscle power and money power. As media reports seem to indicate, the misuse of monetary incentives to buy votes has increased sharply since last elections and continues to be a source of threat to real democracy. While voter awareness on this issue is very high, the problem is that those who win after spending huge amounts are unlikely to focus on good governance. They are more likely to focus on recovering the funds they spent and on giving favours to those who supported their campaigns.
For more details: Indian MP's with Criminal Offences - A list

Full speech: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's address to the nation

Full speech: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's address to the nation
NDTV.com | Updated: September 21, 2012 20:47 IST
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today addressed the nation, defending the economic reforms which were introduced last week.
Click here for the Video link
Here is the full text of Dr Singh's speech:
My dear brothers and sisters,
I am speaking to you tonight to explain the reasons for some important economic policy decisions the government has recently taken. Some political parties have opposed them. You have a right to know the truth about why we have taken these decisions.
No government likes to impose burdens on the common man. Our Government has been voted to office twice to protect the interests of the aam admi.
At the same time, it is the responsibility of the government to defend the national interest, and protect the long term future of our people. This means that we must ensure that the economy grows rapidly, and that this generates enough productive jobs for the youth of our country. Rapid growth is also necessary to raise the revenues we need to finance our programmes in education, health care, housing and rural employment.
The challenge is that we have to do this at a time when the world economy is experiencing great difficulty. The United States and Europe are struggling to deal with an economic slowdown and financial crisis. Even China is slowing down.
We too have been affected, though I believe we have been able to limit the effect of the global crisis.
We are at a point where we can reverse the slowdown in our growth. We need a revival in investor confidence domestically and globally. The decisions we have taken recently are necessary for this purpose.
Let me begin with the rise in diesel prices and the cap on LPG cylinders.
We import almost 80% of our oil, and oil prices in the world market have increased sharply in the past four years. We did not pass on most of this price rise to you, so that we could protect you from hardship to the maximum extent possible.
As a result, the subsidy on petroleum products has grown enormously. It was Rs. 1 lakh 40 thousand crores last year. If we had not acted, it would have been over Rs. 200,000 crores this year.
Where would the money for this have come from? Money does not grow on trees. If we had not acted, it would have meant a higher fiscal deficit, that is, an unsustainable increase in government expenditure vis-a-vis government income. If unchecked, this would lead to a further steep rise in prices and a loss of confidence in our economy. The prices of essential commodities would rise faster. Both domestic as well as foreign investors would be reluctant to invest in our economy. Interest rates would rise. Our companies would not be able to borrow abroad. Unemployment would increase.
The last time we faced this problem was in 1991. Nobody was willing to lend us even small amounts of money then. We came out of that crisis by taking strong, resolute steps. You can see the positive results of those steps. We are not in that situation today, but we must act before people lose confidence in our economy.
I know what happened in 1991 and I would be failing in my duty as Prime Minister of this great country if I did not take strong preventive action.
The world is not kind to those who do not tackle their own problems. Many European countries are in this position today. They cannot pay their bills and are looking to others for help. They are having to cut wages or pensions to satisfy potential lenders.
I am determined to see that India will not be pushed into that situation. But I can succeed only if I can persuade you to understand why we had to act.
We raised the price of diesel by just Rs. 5 per litre instead of the Rs. 17 that was needed to cut all losses on diesel. Much of diesel is used by big cars and SUVs owned by the rich and by factories and businesses. Should government run large fiscal deficits to subsidise them?
We reduced taxes on petrol by Rs. 5 per litre to prevent a rise in petrol prices. We did this so that the crores of middle class people who drive scooters and motorcycles are not hit further.
On LPG, we put a cap of 6 subsidised cylinders per year. Almost half of our people, who need our help the most, actually use only 6 cylinders or less. We have ensured they are not affected. Others will still get 6 subsidised cylinders, but they must pay a higher price for more.
We did not touch the price of kerosene which is consumed by the poor.
My Dear Brothers and Sisters,
You should know that even after the price increase, the prices of diesel and LPG in India are lower than those in Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and Pakistan.
The total subsidy on petroleum products will still be Rs. 160 thousand crores. This is more than what we spend on Health and Education together. We held back from raising prices further because I hoped that oil prices would decline.
Let me now turn to the decision to allow foreign investment in retail trade. Some think it will hurt small traders. This is not true.
Organised, modern retailing is already present in our country and is growing. All our major cities have large retail chains. Our national capital, Delhi, has many new shopping centres. But it has also seen a three-fold increase in small shops in recent years.
In a growing economy, there is enough space for big and small to grow. The fear that small retailers will be wiped out is completely baseless.
We should also remember that the opening of organised retail to foreign investment will benefit our farmers. According to the regulations we have introduced, those who bring FDI have to invest 50% of their money in building new warehouses, cold-storages, and modern transport systems. This will help to ensure that a third of our fruits and vegetables, which at present are wasted because of storage and transit losses, actually reach the consumer. Wastage will go down; prices paid to farmers will go up; and prices paid by consumers will go down.
The growth of organised retail will also create millions of good quality new jobs.
We recognise that some political parties are opposed to this step. That is why State governments have been allowed to decide whether foreign investment in retail can come into their state. But one state should not stop another state from seeking a better life for its farmers, for its youth and for its consumers.
In 1991, when we opened India to foreign investment in manufacturing, many were worried.
But today, Indian companies are competing effectively both at home and abroad, and they are investing around the world. More importantly, foreign companies are creating jobs for our youth -- in Information Technology, in steel, and in the auto industry. I am sure this will happen in retail trade as well.
My Dear Brothers and Sisters,
The UPA Government is the government of the aam aadmi.
In the past 8 years our economy has grown at a record annual rate of 8.2 per cent. We have ensured that poverty has declined much faster, agriculture has grown faster, and rural consumption per person has also grown faster.
We need to do more, and we will do more. But to achieve inclusiveness we need more growth. And we must avoid high fiscal deficits which cause a loss of confidence in our economy.
I promise you that I will do everything necessary to put our country back on the path of high and inclusive growth. But I need your support. Please do not be misled by those who want to confuse you by spreading fear and false information. The same tactics were adopted in 1991. They did not succeed then. They will not succeed now. I have full faith in the wisdom of the people of India.
We have much to do to protect the interests of our nation, and we must do it now. At times, we need to say "No" to the easy option and say "Yes" to the more difficult one. This happens to be one such occasion. The time has come for hard decisions. For this I need your trust, your understanding, and your cooperation.
As Prime Minister of this great country, I appeal to each one of you to strengthen my hands so that we can take our country forward and build a better and more prosperous future for ourselves and for the generations to come.
Jai Hind.
Full speech: Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's address to the nation

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.

Rank Pay: 20,000 Armed Forces Officers to get arrears

20,000 army officers to get pay arrears
Published: Wednesday, Sep 5, 2012, 9:00 IST | Updated: Tuesday, Sep 4, 2012, 23:55 IST
By DNA Correspondent | Place: New Delhi | Agency: DNA
Giving a major boost to the morale of a section of armed forces officers who have been awaiting payment of arrears on account of the Fourth Pay Commission report, the Supreme Court on Tuesday dismissed a Central government’s application that had contested a Kerala high court ruling on the matter.
A three-judge bench of Justices R M Lodha, TS Thakur and Anil R Dave also directed the Union government (ministry of defence) to pay a six per cent annual interest (only from Jan 2006) along with the arrears of revised pay scales since January 1, 1986 within three months.
According to an estimate, the ministry of defence may have to cough up about Rs 1,620 crore in the payment of arrears to nearly 20,000 officers who have suffered due to faulty fixation of their rank pay.
This direction in an off shoot of an application filed by the Union government seeking a relook at the top court’s earlier order that had upheld the pay fixation.
The commission recommended a hike in salary ranging between Rs 200 and Rs 1,200 from the ranks of Captain to Brigadier. The commission had justified this hike saying it’s essential to add the financial incentives in the pay packet of the hard-pressed forces.
However, the government was averse to this finding and it deducted the additional amount from the officers’ existing pay scale.
The bench has directed the Armed Forces Tribunal to dispose of all the petitions filed by the aggrieved officers in the light of its judgment.
The officers had contended that there was a wrong fixation of rank pay awarded by the Fourth Pay Commission in which the element of rank pay was introduced for all ranks from Captain to Brigadier in the army and their equivalent ranks in the air force and navy, in addition to pay in the integrated scale. However, at the time of fixation, the rank pay was first deducted to arrive at the total emoluments and thereafter added after fixation in the integrated scale. This ensured that the final fixation of the total pay of the officer became at par with his civilian counterpart and the edge was neutralised during fixation.
The rationale of this was to make the armed forces an attractive career option and to continue the edge that was always provided to the defence officers vis-à-vis their civilian counterparts, owing to the difficult and challenging nature of job profile.The officers had contended they got a raw deal from the bureaucrats who have systematically worked on ensuring that the historic edge defence officers had with respect to their civilian counterparts is first neutralised and eventually reversed.
With inputs from agencies
20,000 Armed Forces Officers to get arrears
Relief to thousands of officers Bhartesh Singh Thakur, Hindustan Times
Chandigarh, September 04, 2012
Comment:The then Expenditure Secretary who was a smart A.. needs to be punished and taken to task for cheating the Armed Forces of their legitimate pay. MOD and spineless AHQ are responsible for degrading the Officers of Rank Pay.

Govt to retire non-performing bureaucrats

Tuesday 04 September, 2012.DD News
In order to maintain a high standard of efficiency in governance, the Centre is reviewing the performance of all-India service officers and has asked the state governments to carry out similar exercises so that non-performing officials could be retired from services.
Assessment of the performance of Indian Administrative Service (IAS), Indian Police Service (IPS) and Indian Forest Service (IFS) officers, who have completed at least 15 years of service, has already been started, a Department of Personnel and Training (DoPT) official said.
"DoPT has begun review performance of IAS officers and also asked the state governments to do so. The aim behind this exercise is to check on non-performing officers and guard departments against the operation of the 'Peter Principle'... The states are given a maximum of six-month time to carry out this exercise," he said.
The 'Peter Principle', coined by psychologist Laurence J Peter and Raymond Hull in 1969, is a belief that in an organisation where promotion is based on achievement, success, and merit, the employees there will eventually be promoted beyond their level of ability. In common parlance, the principle is also phrased as "employees tend to rise to their level of incompetence".
In January, the Centre had amended Rule 16 (3) of all- India services rule which allowed a performance review only after completion of 30 years of qualifying service.
The new rules gives powers to the government to give retirement to these officers in "public interest" after at least 15 years in the job.
The government can again carry out such review after the officer completes 25 years of service or attains the age of 50 years.
"The Centre may also hold a meeting of state governments after the review to decide on the fate of the non-performing bureaucrats," the official said, adding that the detailed modalities on the exercise will be worked out in coordination with Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Environment and Forests and Union Public Service Commission.(ST-03/09)
Govt to retire non-performing bureaucrats

We are ruled by dacoits… the British were better!

‘We are ruled by dacoits… the British were better’
Sunitha Rao R, TNN Aug 15, 2012, 06.17AM IST
BANGALORE: They have seen India extricate herself from the clutches of the British to turn into a progressive republic. They have lived the freedom struggle and every moment of the nation's 65 years of Independence. For GenNext, their struggle would seem like a fairy tale. On the eve of Independence Day, TOI sought their views on freedom and India.

Pandit Sudhakar Chaturvedi, 118
Ask him who got us freedom, and he answers quizzically: " MK Gandhi, Nehru, Subhash Chandra Bose, Bhagat Singh? Veer Savarkar? British themselves? Extremism or ahimsa? None of them, India got freedom because of Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini, who created fear in the British empire." Pandit Sudhakar Chaturvedi, an enigmatic freedom fighter and living legend of the city, was known as the 'critical insider' within the Congress. Despite being associated closely with the Mahatma, he questioned Gandhi's principle of ahimsa.
On August 15, 1947, Chaturvedi was in Delhi with Gandhi, Nehru and others. "It was an eventful and exciting day. However bad the politics is now, it is good we got freedom then. It was good for both Indians and British," he recalls.
At 118, Chaturvedi is glad he is fit. "I can hear, read and walk," he chuckles. He has not accepted the pension given to freedom fighters, happy in his Jayanagar residence.

NV Krishnamachari, 96
"We might term the British 'firangis' or 'white men', but they ruled us based on laws. They did their job on the directions of the East India Company. But what principles do today's politicians have? Hardly any. We fought to get a nation to be ruled by Indians based on truth, ahimsa, human values. Sometimes, I feel we should not have got freedom at all. The British did not trouble the public as much as our elected politicians do now. I cry to myself when I look at our pathetic world," says NV Krishnamachari.
He was in Bangalore central jail the day India got independence. "We were sent out saying we were released. We had no clue we'd got Independence," he recalls. Krishnamachari has named his sons Jayaprakash Narayan, Babu Rajendra Prasad, Balagangadhar Tilak, Lokamanya, and his daughters Jhansi Rani and Lakshmi Bai. He is fit, he has no BP or diabetes, though his hearing capability is diminishing. He lives in KG Nagar, South Bangalore.

Annadanaiah Puranika, 85
When the entire country rejoiced on August 15, 1947, a 19-year-old freedom fighter and his friends were in tears at Osmania University in Hyderabad. "Hyderabad hadn't got freedom and we had no security under the Nizams. Those who hoisted the Indian flag in Hyderabad were arrested. We fled to Gadag and Hubli, and fought the Razaks and Nizams from here. I discontinued my studies. Thanks to Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, Hyderabad won freedom on September 17, 1948," recollects Annadanaiah Puranika. "I had written to the governor two years ago on how the government can make use of our experience. I have not got any response," he told TOI. Puranika, who worked as an advocate for 30 years in the Karnataka high court, says corrupt politicians should be socially boycotted. He lives in Jayanagar with his daughter. Barring occasional knee pain, he is fit as a fiddle.

HS Doreswamy, 94
This veteran freedom fighter is an active participant in social activism even today. Be it the protest for the appointment of the Lokayukta or implementation of the Lokpal bill, Doreswamy is at Freedom Park with his firm notions. He has termed the anti-corruption protests of Anna Hazare as the "second freedom struggle" of the nation and actively participated in India Against Corruption movements.
We are ruled by dacoits… the British were better

NDA Commandant is answerable to Corruption Charges of his Staff officer

Brief Bio
IC- 27793X LIEUTENANT GENERAL JATINDER SINGH, AVSM**, SM, INFANTRY (The gallantry awards are more or less fair, some suspicion arose with Siachen fake killings and Ketchup Colonel scams but that is over, the distinguished service awards can make one laugh by their very predictable nature.)
The General Officer has had his schooling in Sainik School, Trivandrum and is an alumni of NDA 42nd course. He was commissioned into the prestigious Brigade of The Guards on 17 June 1973 after having graduated from IMA (he has seen no war service). The General Officer has had a balanced command and staff experience in the service. The General now commands the Prestigious National Defence Academy. Colonel Kulbir Singh, who is the staff officer of NDA Commandant Lt Gen Jatinder was found spinning money to the tune of Rs 2 Crores in recruitment scam unearthed by CBI (Well done CBI- get to the root please...)
NDA job racket busted; colonel among 6 held Rs 1.76 cr seized in raids; CBI suspects cash to be bribe taken from job-seekers
Busting a major recruitment process scam in the National Defence Academy (NDA), the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) arrested six people, including a serving colonel, for taking large sums of money from job candidates and promising them confirmed appointments to the posts of lower division clerks and Group C employees.

Colonel Kulbir Singh (left), who was arrested by the CBI for taking bribes from candidates seeking jobs with the National Defence Academy, at the Shivajinagar court yesterday
The questions that Lt Gen Jatinder Singh needs to answer honestly regarding Civilian Recruitment scam involving Rs 2 crores in bribes.
1. Why are you overweight and phyically unfit? Do you embody physical standards of recruits?
2. Are you really medically fit or have you fudged the Medical results?
3. Are you 9 pointer with 9 points for honesty in all your ACR's?
4. Are you a sychophant?
5. Why have you selected your SO from your own Regiment and from the same region?
6. The bribe involving Rs 2 crores was transacted by your SO and hence you are aware of it?
7. Do you know about your subordinates? Are they living within their means?
8. Are you advocating five star culture in the NDA?
9. What ethos is being imbibed to cadets through your selected staff?
10. Do you influence postings through MS branch and MOD?

Is corruption cooling or collapsing the economy?

I’d like to fight against corruption: Gen V K Singh
Sanjay Yadav, TNN Jun 11, 2012, 02.49AM IST
GURGAON: Former Army chief, General V K Singh, participated at a felicitation ceremony at Jatoli-Haily Mandi in Gurgaon said that he appreciates the efforts of Baba Ramdev and Anna Hazare, who are campaigning against corruption.
Interacting with media persons in Pataudi, General Singh said that Ramdev and Hazare are fighting for the common man and people should support them.
However, the former Army chief did not drop a hint whether he would join either of the two camps.
Anna Hazare has already expressed that he would welcome like-minded people like Singh after his retirement to be a part of his team to fight corruption.
The Army chief said that during his 42 years of service in the Indian Army, he has hidden nothing from people. The former Army chief said that now he would live like a common man and would start a campaign to make people aware against corruption.
I’d like to fight against corruption: Gen V K Singh
Is India heading towards worst economic collapse?June 13, 2012
Corruption is mounting pressure on India’s economy. There is a significant economic slowdown posted by poor industrial output during the last couple of months. On 11th June, International Rating agency Standard & Poor’s (S&P) has warned that India could become the first nation from BRIC countries to lose investment grade rating. And the recent downturn could be due to the poor economy policy of the coalition UPA Government at the centre.
So, what is wrong with Indian economy. All over world, people look towards India for any outlook that India is supposed to present to smaller countries for sustainable growth and development. But what is happening to one of the strong pillar of BRIC nations? Other BRIC nations like Brazil, Russia and China enjoys a higher rating of S&P at present than India. Why S&P has to come with a special report this time on BRIC nation’s economy titled `Will India Be The First BRIC Fallen Angel?’ The common people of India do not know how the Government is planning to revive the economy or what is the road-map for the next one year. However, there is a deep concern among citizens about the depraving level of corruption among various tiers of governments in the country. As usual, the politicians have summarily rejected report of S&P. But intellectuals of India are taking this report very seriously. We have the also the recent reports coming from the World Bank that they have cut growth forecast for India from 7.5% to 6.9%.
Chairman of Wipro Technologies Mr Ajeem Premji has recently commented that we are virtually living without a leader in the country. This is what an eminent businessman has to say about our prime minister. Infosys founder and well-known name in Software industry Mr N R Narayan Murthy has also joined the debate by raising the issue of policy paralysis at the centre and many pending matters before the cabinet which eventually affecting the growth.
If citizens of any country is facing challenges of poverty, inflation and non-development, they will directly blame government. And India is also not different. Baba Ramdeo is leading a crusade against black money stacked outside India in foreign banks. Anna Hazare is leading another protest of rampant corruption in public life and asking government to bring tough law to control this. Gone are the days when we were pointing fingers to other countries known for their corrupt public officers. We should not forget that when you are pointing a finger towards other person, the rest of your fingers is actually pointing towards you. This has become true in case of India.
Almost everyday, we get the news of a new corruption story through the media. Now, we feel that the rampant corruption is the real reason for inflation and poverty. It has now devastated our economic, political, social and moral structures. If immediate and drastic action is not taken, S&P will be forced to downgrade India’s investment growth rating. Then the nation will run into the risk of total and irredeemable collapse. The time has come for all the Indians to join hands together and support the movement of Anna Hazare and Baba Ramdeo. Then only we can halt the collapse of Indian economy.
Is India heading towards worst economic collapse?
Comment
Printing money to solve a nation's economic problem can never be sustained. Eventually, it will lead to the debasing of a nations currency and run-away inflation. Yet for a short period, it can create an artificial prosperity, deluding the masses into believing this new prosperity can be sustained. The long-term consequences of inflating their money supply will spell disaster and have dire consequences for the economy and negatively impact the masses and their livelihood.

President Pratibha Patil's Past Reality

President Pratibha Patil's Ugly Reality
Controversies have dogged Pratibha Patil, even before she became the President. A look at allegations made against her:

Shielding her brother: Rajni Patil, a professor in a Jalgaon college and the widow of murdered Congress leader Vishram G Patil, claimed that Pratibha Patil's brother G N Patil murdered her husband. She accused Patil of shielding her brother. According to reports, G N Patil was the mastermind behind the murder of the V G Patil, who was killed in 2005.

Promoting her own son:Charges have been made against Patil for promoting her own son during the announcement of the candidates for the Maharashtra assembly elections. It was widely reported that her son Rajendra Shekhawat was nominated from the Amravati seat for the elections, only because he's the son of the President. However, Shekhawat denies this allegation. Patil's son was earlier denied a ticket from the Congress in the 2004 assembly election, but in 2009, while his mother holds the post of the President of the nation, he easily managed to get a ticket.

Bank scam: Patil, in 1973, had set up a co-operative bank named Pratibha Mahila Shahkari Bank, to empower women. The license of the bank was revoked in 2003 by the Reserve Bank of India for alleged financial irregularities. According to reports, one of the reasons listed by the RBI for cancellation of the license was the faulty loan policy of the bank and waivers on loan interests given, among others, to Patil's relatives.

Sugar factory scam: Patil was the founder member of a cooperative sugar factory Sant Muktabai Sahakari Sakhar Karkhana. According to reports, the factory was allegedly found to be a drug trafficking ring and was even declared a defaulter for failing to repay a bank loan of Rs 17.5 crore. Pratibha Patil was the chairwoman and director till she became the Governor of Rajasthan.

MP fund scam: During her tenure as the Member of Parliament from Amravati, there were allegations of her transferring funds worth Rs 36 lakh from her MPL fund to an organisation run by her husband Devsingh Shekhawat. This is in violation of the government rule — an MP cannot transfer the funds to organisations run by their own relatives.
Why Pratiba patil qualified as a congress nominee?
Supreme Commander Extravaganza
Show for President Pratibha Patil cost Navy Rs 23 crore
Himanshi Dhawan, TNN May 24, 2012, 05.11AM IST
NEW DELHI: The Navy has run up a tab of Rs 23 crore for a day's extravaganza for the President. This included a bill of Rs 12 lakh for drinking water and Rs 17 lakh for the presidential banquet, besides spending Rs 14 lakh on alteration of a cattle fence and a similar amount on fixing a staircase.
The President's Fleet Review of the Navy, in which the supreme commander of the armed forces inspects the maritime prowess of the force, took place in 2011 and is held once in the President's tenure.
Data accessed under RTI from the Western Naval Command headquarters said Rs 23.24 crore was spent on the event attended by Pratibha Patil . The information was provided on an application filed by activist S C Agrawal.
The Navy spent Rs 26.96 lakh to acquire new furniture which included 30 dining tables and 60 dining chairs, besides furniture for VIPs and other staff. It spent Rs 17.57 lakh on the presidential banquet for 960 guests and Rs 2.11 lakh on catering on the presidential yacht for 760 invitees.
Interestingly, the authorities had budgeted for Rs 12 lakh for water (amounting to 83 one-litre bottles of mineral water for each guest) and Rs 28.14 lakh for "fresh provisions". Wages and salaries came to Rs 1 crore while some of the longterm infrastructure changes that were made included alterations to cattle fence at Vijaya garden that cost Rs 14 lakh. Repairs to the staircase from the main foyer to the officers' mess also ran up a bill of Rs 14 lakh and a fountain built outside Mulla auditorium cost Rs 6 lakh. The infrastructure costs amounted to Rs 11.67 crore.
The President undertook the fleet review on December 20 last year in which she took salute from a flotilla of 81 ships, four submarines and 44 aircraft of the Navy and the Indian Coast Guard.
Supreme Commander's Royal Style at Tax payers Expense
Comment: The Congress Party's steady decline is comparable to our economic growth- this is troubling news for the corrupt and the scamsters... a fear that the next elections the Party may be dumped. Therefore it is imperative a New President is selected for future convenience and solace.

Can we fix corruption in defence deals?

How we can fix corruption in defence deals by By: G R Gopinath
(The author is founder of Air Deccan) Extracts...
Apr 23, 2012, 06.18AM IST
Let's salute General VK Singh for telling the bitter truth: the Indian Army is alarmingly ill-equipped. That the cause of inordinate delay has been due to vested interests: from ignorant or rapacious politicians to bureaucrats, and retired Generals to arms dealers, conniving to divide the spoils from the kickbacks of the deal is not in doubt.
Competing bidders scuttle the deal when they discover they are likely to lose it. An arms dealer is like any salesman. He doesn't care which weapon you buy as long as he pockets his commission. But as the General said, it is a different matter if those awarding the contract compromise with the middlemen and recommend substandard equipment, then he has committed 'high treason'.
Similarly, defence officers posted within the procurement directorate of the three forces must have knowledge and minimum qualifications with a tenure of at least five years. And internally, the organisation must be restructured, and rules framed to ensure that technical evaluation and shortlisting is completed in time.
It is well known that while 'something is rotten' in the defence ministry, all is not well within the three forces either. The arms dealers worm their way through retired Generals to senior officers who are in charge of technical evaluation and user trials, to get better rating for their own arms and fudge those of their competitors. And they use all means: gifts, Swiss accounts and honey traps.
All officials must be vetted by intelligence agencies and the best with impeachable integrity must be appointed and strict vigil kept on them at all times.
Corruption in defence procurement should be treated as treason and Indian Penal Code should be suitably amended.
We have many extremely capable, honest and eminent people who can be picked up to not only formulate a defence procurement policy and enact a robust framework to plug loopholes but also knowledgeable men to fill those posts for procurement on a revolving basis.
May be a separate directorate for procurement is created with stringent qualifications and minimum tenure so that we don't have IAS officers, howsoever brilliant (and most are), who have spent all their life in Jharkhand or Uttar Pradesh in animal husbandry presiding over purchase of crucial high-technology weapon systems.
Systemic changes can be brought about if there's a will and urgency.
Political leadership need not necessarily have expertise in weapons or fighter jets to be able to lead the forces in deciding what armament to acquire, but we can ill-afford lame-duck ministers who are manipulated by an apathetic bureaucracy, who are indecisive and out of depth for the portfolio they hold. In times of crisis, we need political leaders who can galvanise the defence forces and lead from the front.
And the buck stops with the Prime Minister. He can take inspiration and courage from his own life when his mentor P V Narasimha Rao brought him in, a rank outsider and novice to politics, to rescue the country from financial disaster. It may be a good idea to do the same in the defence ministry now, to clean up the Augean stables and lay down sound policies and strengthen the country's defence before it is too late.
How we can fix corruption in defence deals by By: G R Gopinath
Comment: Reforming the MOD is like straightening a curved dogs tail. Can we learn a lesson or two from US... US Defence Secretary unveils blueprint for Defence Reform... click here

How will MOD Reward BEML Chief VRS Natarajan? Extended Tenure?

Tatra probe: CBI team to visit Czech Republic
Neeraj Chauhan, TNN Jun 5, 2012, 03.55AM IST
NEW DELHI: Suspecting that Ravi Rishi may have received elaborate assistance from Army insiders over the past 25 years, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) has sought all inspection records and related files on the all-terrain truck from the Directorate General of Quality Assurance (DGQA) since 1997. CBI has also summoned a former DGQA, Lt Gen Amarjit Singh, who had joined Rishi after his retirement.
CBI sources said the agency would also summon some senior retired military officers who went on to work for Rishi after handling Tatra acquisition, while they were still in service.
DGQA looks after quality assurance for arms, ammunitions, equipment and stores supplied to the Army. The agency has also asked DGQA if it received any complaints regarding spare-parts of Tatra trucks.
Agency sources said they have summoned Lt Gen Amarjit Singh for questioning to know more about the DGQA inspection procedures that were followed for Tatra trucks during his tenure.
CBI suspects that several officials from different units of the ministry of defence (MoD) and the Army, who had joined Rishi's company after retirement, could have played a vital role in ensuring that the Tatra acquisition went on smoothly for the past 25 years. The agency is likely to question two former MGOs (Master General of Ordnance) of the Army, who, too, had joined Rishi's Vectra group after their retirement.
Sources said that a CBI team will soon visit Czech Republic for probe, including ascertaining why the Army was supplied with Tatra vehicles based on an older technology. The agency would also be sending a Letter Rogatory (LR) to Czech Republic seeking information.
So far, CBI probe has revealed that despite stringent clause for indigenization and upgrade of technology in the original agreement signed with Czech based Tatra a.s, the indigenization by defence PSU BEML remained far behind the target levels.
"The Czech Republic based company would be able to give us specifications of parts which were coming here. Also, it would give us a clear picture on Venus Projects, one of the companies run by Ravi Rishi and involved in the Tatra deal, and prices quoted and taken for the parts," added the CBI source.
In another development, which may land BEML chief V R S Natarajan in trouble, the agency probe has established that India had enough technical knowhow in 2002-03 for manufacturing most parts of Tatra trucks, a claim contradicted by Natarajan during his interrogation.
Sources said that 100% indigenization of Tatra trucks had not happened till 2002, when Natarajan signed a fresh contract despite the previous contract of 1997 being valid till 2006-07. "He (Natarajan) has been claiming that we did not have technical expertise, but our records show that we had enough technical expertise in manufacturing the parts, which were mostly being imported," a source said.
Sources said trucks, which are now assembled by BEML and supplied to the Army, have not performed well in high altitude. Though the Army flagged its poor performance on several occasions, the PSU didn't go for technology upgrade.
Tatra probe: CBI team to visit Czech Republic
Comment: Will CBI find anything in the Czech Republic? Could this be a delaying tactic (a witch hunt) employed by Ravi Rishi, MOD, MHA and VRS Natarajan? This scam is taking the same BOFORS gun route... though all its tracks have been obliterated by the CBI. The Gun was Swedish the Truck now is of Czech but the laundered money goes to same similar secret accounts in tax havens. Beneficiaries will never come to surface- the hidden Indian Scamsters will remain incognito forever- forget Indian rope trick this is for real a trick which will beat any world record for invisibility. Truly the Military Milked Doubly!

Gen VK Singh takes a beating

Indian Media Watch.... Crooks and Liars in the Indian media are the greatest danger to our democracy. Bias, outright lies, paid news, plagiarism and political leanings characterize much of our media.
Poll - India's Worst Journalists - 2012
Arnab Goswami 302 (32%)
Ashutosh (IBN7) 181 (19%)
Barkha Dutt 705 (75%)
Karan Thapar 350 (37%)
Kumar Ketkar 268 (28%)
Nidhi Razdan 247 (26%)
Nikhil Wagle 237 (25%)
Rahul Kanwal 163 (17%)
Rajdeep Sardesai 436 (46%)
Sagarika Ghose 540 (57%)
Shekhar Gupta 419 (44%)
Shiv Aroor 142 (15%)
Sonia Singh 195 (20%)
Vinod Sharma 414 (44%)
Vir Sanghvi 333 (35%)

Massager or messenger?

Karan Thapar (2010 #4): Readers must remember that every journo looks tall in the studio but not in actual life. KT is not blessed with stature and the same goes for his journalism. One can say he has improved a bit but still retains the unwanted scowl and growl when interviewing people. Madhu Trehan in her NewsLaundry interview showed up KT for the little puppy he was. Like the ones who just need a hug and a cuddle once in a while. And if you thought you knew nothing about KT, never mind. All you have to do is hear his signature line on his promo for his show on CNN-IBN: “I don’t want to go into the facts, the facts are disputed”. LOL! Facts are disputed? You have to undo a lot of learning to understand that facts aren’t facts and can be disputed. The worst job KT did in 2011 was massaging Kapil Sibal’s brazen attempt at pre-screening content on the internet. As if that wasn’t enough he pulled out Brajesh Mishra, former NSA, out of nowhere to call serving army chief, Gen. VKSingh, the worst ever chief of army in history. My prediction: As long as he is in the business, KT will be on this list.
Wheres the smirk? Congress spokesman- Seperated by Birth

Vinod Sharma (New entry): For those who don’t know, Vinod Sharma is the political editor of Hindustan Times. That’s right, ‘Political’ is the key word – less of an editor and more of a politician. It’s not very hard to recognise VS on a friendly channel. He has made the ‘smirk’ more popular than child-molester DGP Rathore on television. Sharma has also been acknowledged by many political spokespersons and viewers as the most loyal spokesperson of the Congress party. No matter what the scam or what the scandal you can expect him to staunchly defend even the worst misdeeds of the Congress by blaming it on the opposition or anyone else he can lay his hands on. The one chance to get him off TV for longer periods was a Rajya Sabha ticket, when Shobana Bhartiya, his boss at HT exited, but that unfortunately didn’t happen. So we’re going to be stuck with VS for quite a while. His best moment in recent times was during the debate over Gen. VK Singh and the Tatra trucks scam. He was angry that the debate was going one way (in favour of Gen. Singh) so had to somehow twist it against the tide. In his business time VS writes a blog titled ‘Separated at birth’. I guess that refers to some Pakistani connection or maybe his journalistic independence was separated at birth. Someday we’ll find out.
He's no Egghead

Shekhar Gupta (2010 #10): When he appeared on the last list, a fan of Gupta wrote in stating he will email my post to SG for his response. I was wondering whether that fan objected to SG being at #10 and wanted him to be lower on the list. I guess that fan’s prayers are answered. SG has sunk further in the rankings and his Indian Express is almost on doles from the govt. His senseless programme ‘Walk the talk’ , the equivalent of ‘Koffee with Karan’ or ‘On the couch with Koel’, continues on NDTV but what sunk SG the most is his misadventure with an article on Army troop movements. In his quest to please SG’s UPA, this SG splashed a headline in IE that nearly implied the army, led by Gen.VK Singh, may have dreamt of a coup. Worse, there have been reports that the troop movement story was stale and SG’s version was actually a plant by a union minister. SG laid an egg alright but ended up with more on his face. He will forever be credited with reducing a fiercely independent newspaper like IE to a mouthpiece of a political party. His permanent place on this list is forever assured.
Nidhi captures the Larger Picture- Left Right and Centre- Marching Up

Nidhi Razdan, NDTV (New entry): She has come to prominence more for many reasons other than journalistic skills. ‘Left, right, centre’ is her signature programme and happens to be one of those mindless debates on every topic under the sun. She is proof that you can be an expert on everything with specialisation in nothing. The best part of Nidhi? Now, don’t get me wrong, she likes everything large. Whenever confounded by a brilliant argument or point by a panellist she quickly jumps to her favourite line “let’s look at the LARGER picture”. One would have thought that debates are meant to look at the finer small details. No, not with Nidhi, the larger picture is a convenient exit. Training from NDTV helps. My prediction for this debutant is that she is likely to go higher up in the list in the future. (She lined up with arms lobbyists doing "Panel Discussion on Gen VK Singh's tenure".)
So there you are. Let’s also not forget that are many journalists who now increasingly seem to be anti-nationals. Their ties to Ghulam Nabi Fai aren’t even being investigated by the govt. Industry leaders usually raise the standards of performance of the industry as a whole. The opposite seems to be true in the media. Systematically, many of India’s journalists have brought the profession to rock bottom over the years. I continue to maintain, they are the greatest threat to our democracy.
Click here to read hilarious resume of more Journalists

Anna Hazare motivates the citizens towards a civilized nation

I will fight till the end: Highlights of Anna Hazare's speech
NDTV Correspondent | Updated: June 03, 2012 16:59 IST
New Delhi: Gandhian activist Anna Hazare and Yoga guru Baba Ramdev are holding a day-long fast in Delhi today as a mark of their protest against corruption and black money. Here are the highlights of what Anna Hazare said:
•The whole country is my family. We will fight the goondas in India.
•I do not ask anyone to emulate me.
•Sacrifices have to be made to achieve a great goal.
•I do not even know the names of my brother's children.
•We are talking of changing the country; that is not impossible.
•I will fight till the end (against corruption).
•Be part of a larger family, give a few hours to social service.
•Words will not suffice, Words have to match deeds.
•Development based on exploitation is not correct.
•If there are eight candidates and all of them are goondas, then voters should have the right to say we do not like any of them.
I will fight till the end: Highlights of Anna Hazare's speech

Adarsh scamster confident of clean chit from CBI and court

Confident of coming out clean in Adarsh scam probe: Sushilkumar Shinde
Published: Saturday, Jun 2, 2012, 21:46 IST
Place: Solapur | Agency: PTI
Union Power Minister and former Maharashtra Chief Minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Saturday expressed confidence that he would come out clean in the ongoing investigations into the Adarsh Housing Society scam.
He was questioned by the CBI last year in connection with the approval given to the scam-tainted multi-storeyed housing complex in Mumbai.
Both Shinde and Vilasrao Deshmukh, another former Chief Ministers, dealt with files and passed proposals pertaining to the 31-storeyed building in a posh south Mumbai locality, which was granted permission after allegedly flouting rules and regulations.
Talking to reporters here in Western Maharashtra, Shinde said he had done no wrong whatsoever. "I had only performed my duty as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra (in 2003-04) while sanctioning the permission for Adarsh building. That was a routine work," he said.
The CBI has registered a case against 14 persons, including former Chief Minister Ashok Chavan, who had to resign when the scandal broke out in 2010, some retired Army officers and Government officials on charges of criminal conspiracy, fraud and misuse of official power.
"I am clean and clear in my mind. There is no mental tension," the Congress leader said when asked about being summoned to appear before a judicial panel, which is also looking into the scam, later this month.
Confident of coming out clean in Adarsh scam probe: Sushilkumar Shinde
Comment:
Military Officers are 100% more cleaner than Politicians. It means all scamsters will be declared clean by the CBI and the Court. Indian Laws are mind boggling as all powerful lawyers who make laws are tainted. We need the intervention of the Almighty to steer us on the right course.

Media and Government declares honest citizens insane

Gen VK Singh, Anna, and the madness of fighting corruption
by Venky Vembu May 27, 2012
In his short, and eventful tenure as Army chief, Gen VK Singh has been called many names. Former National Security Adviser Brajesh Mishra said Gen Singh had “lost his mental balance” – and should be sent on “forced leave”. On Saturday, Lt Gen Tejinder Singh, the man whom Gen Singh accused of having offered him a Rs 14 crore bribe to approve the purchase of Tatra trucks by the Army, repeated that venomous charge.
Lt Gen Tejinder Singh told CNN-IBN that in addition to the bribery charge that Gen Singh had levelled against him, he had made “several aspersions” against the Supreme Court as well. ”That clearly indicates that Gen Singh has lost his mental balance,” he said.
Media commentators too have taken snide potshots at what they see as an erosion in Gen Singh’s mental faculties. Karan Thapar believes that Gen Singh is “so powerfully propelled by his own demons” that he careening towards self-destruction. Likewise, columnist Rohit Bansal reckons that the general is in a “deeply disturbed condition and needs to “cool down” – failing which the government should send him to Pakistan, where he surely has a career.
Almost every one of these commentaries suggests that Gen Singh is so motivated by the overwhelming urge to redeem his personal honour (following the setback in the age row with the government) that he has become a loose cannon. They claim that Gen Singh is largely to blame for the perceived erosion in relations between the military and the civilian government.
Such a characterisation does colossal injustice to Gen Singh’s earnest – if perhaps excessively eager – effort to tackle corruption in the Army, and particularly in defence procurement. Right from his first day in office, Gen Singh signalled that he wished to restore the Army’s “internal health”. And if that meant going after the corrupt in his own Army fraternity, the good General hasn’t flinched from the hard task. In that spirit, he went after high-ranking accused in the Sukhna and Adarsh housing society scandals – and took on the arms lobby.
The demons that Gen Singh battled in that good fight were not in his mind; they were sipping single-malts in Army clubs, sealing arms deals at golf courses – and slithering spookily in the corridors of the Defence Ministry.
Any government that claims it wants to combat corruption everywhere, including in defence procurement, ought to have backed up Gen Singh’s efforts. Even if Gen Singh’s methods were somewhat over-the-top, his intentions in going after corruption were unimpeachable. And in his defence, he perhaps had to go over the top because of the level of entrenchment within the Army and the bureaucracy.
Yet, by planting venomous media stories besmirching Gen Singh’s reputation - including highly tendentious and too-clever-by-half reports of a suspected Army coup – the government has effectively shielded the arms lobby and the corrupt within the defence bureaucracy.
And now, we’re told, it’s all because Gen Singh has “lost his mental balance.”
This isn’t, of course, the first time that those who campaign against corruption have had their sanity questioned. Congress leaders have suggested that Anna Hazare too needed the services of a mental asylum.
Perhaps there is a subliminal message being conveyed by such commentaries.
Perhaps only a “loss of mental balance” can account for why Gen Singh didn’t accept the offer of a bribe made to him – when even the officer who offered it suggested that Army chiefs before Gen Singh had accepted such payments, and those after him would too.
Perhaps Gen Singh is mad – for even wanting to fight corruption, even to the extent of antagonising his follow-officers.
Perhaps the commentariat is right, and Gen Singh and Anna Hazare ought to be locked up in a padded cell, where they can rattle the bars all they want with their thunderous anti-corruption rhetoric.
Perhaps, as Akira Kurosawa said, in a mad world, only the mad are sane.
Gen VK Singh, Anna, and the madness of fighting corruption
Comment: Arms Lobbyists have the last say. Money buys media and bribes speak loudly. Honest and Patriots are declared insane. Only the corrupt remain sane... the dictum "blow with the wind" is taking the citizens for a ride... India's growth story is an empty balloon. Criminal Politicians are taking over the Nation's wealth which is hijacked by a few and the rest remain fighting for their safety and survival.
Vox Populi: What makes us proud
“To oppose corruption in government is the highest obligation of patriotism.” ― G. Edward Griffin... General V K Singh, Arvind kejrival, Kiran Bedi, Prashant Bhusan and Shri Anna Hazare are golden personalities who are being put through fire and muck incessantly and yet emerging unblemished and glowing. They are without doubt true Patriots. The response they are getting proves that there is no dearth of them in our country. That sure makes me a proud Indian.

Honest Prime Minister heads the most corrupt cabinet in the world

Team Anna charges 15 UPA ministers with corruption
Saturday 26 May 2012

Team Anna has accused 15 UPA government ministers including Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee and Home Minister P Chidambaram, of corruption.
Team Anna launched a scathing attack against the UPA government for failing to pass the Lokapal Bill and served a fresh ultimatum to the PM to meet their demands or face another agitation on July 25.
In an open letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, the anti-corruption crusaders alleged that since 15 out of 34 cabinet ministers had serious corruption charges against them, they would not allow Lokpal Bill to be passed.
Corrupted ministers in UPA: Team Anna
“There are serious allegations of corruption against PM, Pranab Mukherjee, P Chidambaram, Vilasrao Deshmukh, Kamal Nath, Salman Khurshid, Kapil Sibal, Farooq Abdullah, SM Krishna, GK Vasan, Praful Patel and Sharad Pawar, they will not allow a strong Lokpal,” alleged Prashant Bhushan. “Several top party functionaries such as Mulayam Singh, Lalu Yadav and Jayalalithaa have been involved in scams, they will never allow Lokapal Bill to be passed”, echoed Kejriwal. The team urged the Prime Minister to initiate the formation of a Special Investigative Team to probe charges against the 15 corrupt ministers within six months.
Team Anna wants corrupt Ministers and Politicians investigated
Will the New Chief play a second fiddle to PM and its corrupt cabinet?
PM hosts farewell dinner for Gen V K Singh
Readers Response
With VK Singh out, the demise of India army will continue - We'll have COAS like Deepak Kapoor, focusing on grabbing land for themselves, rather than protecting the land they took an oath of protection to. - We'll have a whole bunch of army kids in foreign land - the kind that are there in Congo now (refer outlook story)- after a battallion of Sikh Li left behind a trail of kids with "distinctive Indian features" - By the way, the UN Forces Commandar, during the the time the Indian army unit was busy fathering kids, was Gen Bikram Singh - the next COAS ! - We'll see a sudden increase in gallantary medals - the kind that are obtained by splashing tomato ketchup on civilians posing for photographs (remember Col. Kohli's case) and fake encounters (remember Maj Singh case of Siachin encounters) - With an army composed of cowherds, land grabbers and what not, if Pakistan were to do another Kargil, they would probably reach Delhi this time. With VK Singh, the government had a chance to set the Army straight, but alas!
Click here for the original post

Montek Singh Fudges India's Growth

Dr. Ahluwalia does not contradict a single fact in the article:
(i) Rs.2.02 lakh daily average expenditure for trips between May and October 2011 (well after his “busy” G-20 period ending in 2010). No “gross extravagance”?
(ii) 274 days abroad, or one in every nine. Factor in travel days and it could be one in seven away from office.
(iii) 42 trips, half of them visits to the U.S. (several trips not connected with his duties as Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission).
The link between the poverty line figures he supports (and defends in the Supreme Court) and his own expenditures is extremely relevant and pertinent. It is hypocrisy to impose one approach on an impoverished people while practising another — entirely different — for himself, with their money — public money. That too in a period where his government calls for more austerity. Dealing with abject poverty was central to the founding principles of the Planning Commission. But that, unlike Dr. Ahluwalia, is hobbled by “resource constraints.”
The travel period he cites as vital (2008-10) was one in which Dr. Manmohan Singh had ordered that government “severely curtail expenditure on air travel, particularly foreign travel,” except where deemed “absolutely necessary” (The Hindu, June 6, 2008).
Several ministers' foreign trips were cancelled and cuts announced in travel expenses. Two ministers lost their five-star hotel suites. The External Affairs Minister gave up his plane for overseas trips, and others flew economy class (The Hindu, September 13, 2009). Dr. Ahluwalia is silent on what class he actually travelled by, then or thereafter, or his expenses. How much travel does he undertake within India — surely a priority for a Deputy Chairman of the Planning Commission? Put that up on the website?
Costs of $4,000 (daily average) are huge. And we don't know what the embassies and consulates spent on him locally. But spending curbs worry Dr. Ahluwalia, who asks “whether and to what extent this would affect our ability to enter into negotiations immediately on arrival…” Hope he spares a thought for how millions of Indian travellers, like migrant labourers, journey, and have to be productive on arrival. He plans for them, after all. G-20 meetings in 2008-10 were held in different countries, but his visits mostly took him to the U.S. His U.S. visits were prolific earlier, too, as the RTI data show.
Given the importance he claims for his sherpa work in G-20 and other forums, which he admits is unconnected to the Planning Commission, why remain in the Commission and paralyse its functioning by being absent so often? The first day of the 11th Plan was April 1, 2007. But the Plan document was ready only on June 25, 2008 — an entire year wasted that brought cascading disaster for many vital projects. The “mid-term” appraisal came in the fourth year of that Five-Year Plan! Now, we're into the first year of the 12th Plan and it is not even remotely ready. It is good to know the Planning Commission's website will carry his travel details. But the RTI data was also about his expenses. Will he put those up, too? Better still, if other PC members' expenses go up as well, to allow us comparisons.
It is a measure of how disconnected Dr. Ahluwalia is that he does not sense how the public views his expenditures. Nor, worse, the further damage his clarification will do to their perceptions.
Planning Commission on Luxurious Travel Agenda
Montek in eye of storm over Plan panel’s poverty estimates
Falling rupee adds fuel to India’s crisis
Fuel shock ignites rage
Comment: Snow Ball effect of Black Money, Money Laundering, Bureaucratic Curruption, Luxurious Life Style of Ministers, MPs and President....

President Pratiba and MEA sing the same tune

The disastrous presidency of Pratibha Devisingh Patil
Apr 28, 2012by Abhay Vaidya
At a time when issues relating to land grab by politicians and politically-connected builders have been hitting the headlines day in and day out, the 12th president of India, Patibha Devisingh Patil, and her advisors should have picked up the first signs of trouble over her post-retirement home in Pune.
Patil is technically right when she says that she cannot be accused of “land grab” in Pune. Her defence is that the 2.61 lakh sq ft land being developed for her bungalow premises under the Khadki cantonment Board in Pune would continue to remain with the defence ministry. The land ownership had not changed hands and so, she has not “grabbed” any land.
Where Patil erred was in being insensitive to the issues raised by ex-servicemen in Pune such as retired colonel Suresh Patil and his NGO, Justice for Jawans. An infuriated Patil asked why so much land was being allotted to president Patil and a 4,500 sq ft bungalow constructed afresh when there was an acute paucity of accommodation for soldiers posted in Pune.
Pratibha Patil will be remembered for setting new standards in lowering the dignity of the president's office. Adrian Streun/Reuters
They pointed out that the land for Patil’s bungalow was meant for military use. Patil and his fellow crusader and RTI activist Anup Awasthi also used the Right to Information Act, 2005 to get the facts on the president’s post-retirement entitlements for housing. The reply they got from the president’s office further intensified their agitation: Under the rules, a retired president was entitled to 2,000 sq ft of “living area” to be taken on lease in case suitable government residence was not available. In the case of a government residence being allotted to the ex-president, the size of the bungalow could go up to 5,498 sq.ft – the highest entitlement for a union minister.
Patil’s mistake was to get 2.61 lakh sq ft land allotted to her and authorise the construction of a new, 4,500 sq ft bungalow on it.
Was the president taking her lavish lifestyle at Rashtrapati Bhavan a bit too far? Given the honour, prestige and dignity associated with the president’s office, her senior staff should also have done some background checks and intelligence gathering on the ramifications of the controversy brewing in Pune. At the end of it, it is the president who has cut a sorry face, despite her protestations.
Although this president is from Maharashtra — the northern Jalgaon district to be precise — she has no emotional connect with the people of Pune. Just as her foreign trips sparked a controversy because of the Rs 200 crore expenditure and the large family entourage, domestically, her many trips to Pune also became a talking point. Her trips to Pune were far more frequent than those of her predecessor, president APJ Abdul Kalam, who had a hectic tour schedule. In Patil’s case, however, questions were asked whether her trips and extended halts in Pune had anything to do with family visits as her daughter’s family resides in Pune.
Given this background, her decision to settle in Pune after retirement did not come as a surprise. The family connection made headlines in 2010 when the Maharashtra government allotted commercially attractive plots of land to trusts headed by her Pune-based daughter Jyoti Rathore and Maharashtra rural development minister Jayant Patil.
The two plots with high commercial potential were allotted in village Jambhe in Mulshi taluka, within five km off the Mumbai-Pune expressway and the IT park at Hinjewadi. Rathore’s Maharashtra Mahila Udyam Trust had to pay just Rs 6.72 lakh to the government for the 7.93 hectare plot with an estimated market value of Rs 19 crore. The plan included 27,300 sq metre of land for a residential school, 20,000 sq metres for a college and 32,000 sq metres for a playground. Rathore had then told the media that the trust paid the money as per government procedure and ready-reckoner norms, and did not get the land at a “throwaway price”.
In February, president Patil’s son and Congress MLA Raosaheb Shekhawat was interrogated by the Amravati police in connection with the seizure of Rs 1 crore in hard currency from a car coming from Nagpur. The money was hidden in the luggage compartment of the car and the Maharashtra Congress and Shekhawat explained it as “party funds” meant for distribution to poor Congress candidates ahead of the civic polls on 16 February. Many found this explanation laughable and wondered whether the cash was meant to buy votes.
A career politician from Jalgaon known for her loyalty to the Nehru-Gandhi family, Patil gave the Congress led by Sonia Gandhi the historic opportunity of nominating India’s first woman president. This decision to give preference to loyalty and gender over merit while selecting the presidential nominee, proved disastrous as Patil was already enveloped by many controversies.
She had already been accused of mismanagement at the Sant Muktabai Cooperative Sugar Factory controlled by her and the alleged involvement of her brother GN Patil in the VG Patil murder case in Jalgaon in 2004. These were among the controversies that resurfaced the moment Patil was nominated by the UPA for presidentship in 2007.
Among all the 12 presidents of India, it is President Patil’s term that began and is now ending on a low note. The previous low point that the office of the president witnessed was when the seventh president of India, Giani Zail Singh, clashed with then Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. He had also famously said that he was willing to become a sweeper but was asked by his leader (Indira Gandhi) to become the president of India.
It is now Patil, more than Singh, who will be remembered for setting new standards in lowering the dignity of the president’s office.
http://www.firstpost.com/india/the-disastrous-presidency-of-pratibha-devisingh-patil-292042.html
Comments: All her foreign visits were planned by MEA headed by a tainted Foreign Minister- both were lavish in denuding the exchequer... no accountibilty at all... victims are the citizens of the Nation. The tax payers taken for a joy ride.

Judicial Commision tries to Make Monkey of the Military

Land belongs to army: Gen VK Singh

HT Correspondent , Hindustan Times Mumbai, May 01, 2012
General VK Singh, the Chief of Army Staff, was categorical when he said that the land, on which the infamous Adarsh Co-operative Housing Society stands, belongs to the army.

General Singh was in Mumbai to attend a book release function at Mulla Auditorium in Colaba.
General Singh’s statement is in stark contrast to the interim report submitted by the judicial commission to the Maharashtra government.
“The land belongs to the Army,” said General Singh when questioned about the ownership of the land.
The Maharashtra state-appointed judicial commission had concluded that the plot of land in Mumbai belonged to the state government and was not meant for families of Kargil war martyrs, as claimed by the army. The report had stated that the defence establishment could not give sufficient documentary evidence to prove its claim over the land.
But General Singh said, “It was a commission created by the state. We have given documents which has a lot of depth and truth. But whatever documents we had given to the commission, they were not stressed upon.”
When questioned about demolishing the structure, General Singh said: “The order is already there. The onus is on you (media) to ensure it is done.” General Singh further added that corrective measures are being taken to ensure such land scams do not happen in the future.
“During my tenure in the army, whenever an irregularity has been brought to my notice, whether it is Adarsh or Sukhna land scam, action has been taken.” Army chief also pointed out the lack of accountability of the Defence Estate Office to the armed forces.
“At some point the defence estate office used to report to the armed forces,” he said.
“But it was discontinued. And from then there have been instances of additions and subtractions,” he added.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/India-news/Mumbai/Land-belongs-to-army-Gen-VK-Singh/Article1-848751.aspx
Comment: The Adarsh Scam was the brain child of former Army Chief's who are having the last laugh. A Ponzi scheme to make a fortune in real estate by roping in corrupt bureaucrats and Politicians who made the scheme feasible and ACR's of pliable Officers tweaked at AHQ. The real Military Culprits are now retired and gleaming over their scheme. Few are now cooling their heals in prison comfort. The Land belongs to the Military was never the question... but a twist was given to delay and confuse the real issues. Culprits should be tried for treason.