ED issues notices to society members in Adarsh scam, finally
Mumbai, April 15, 2012, DH News Service
Bombay HC had earlier rapped Enforcement Directorate, CBI and Income Tax department for delay in initiating action
A month after the Bombay High Court rebuke, the Enforcement Directorate (ED), late last week, finally issued notices to members of the controversial and “under probe” Adarsh Housing Society, seeking details of the sources of payments made to purchase apartments.
The contentious 31-storey building has been constructed on a plot in south Mumbai’s Colaba region, reportedly earmarked for housing Kargil war heroes and widows.
So far nine people, including two retired major-generals and three senior retired and serving IAS officials have been taken into custody by the Central Bureau of Investigation.
It is learnt that the ED was awaiting replies this week and may also move court seeking custody of scamsters recently arrested by the investigating agency.
Last month, the court while hearing the multiple-agencies Adarsh scam investigations, directed the Central Bureau of Investigation, Income-Tax (I-T) department and the Enforcement Directorate to hold a joint-meeting to collate information and complete the “delayed,” investigation quickly.
Tardy investigation
The court was incensed over the tardy investigation and castigated the CBI, questioning the delay in initiating action against the “erring” government officers and other accused. The country's premier investigating agency in its status report submitted before the court mentioned that so far it had filed FIR against 15 people alleging manipulation of land documents to usurp the plot.
The court after slamming the CBI also rapped the Enforcement Directorate (ED-FEMA) for its short-shrift replies. The special director ED who was present at the court blamed the CBI for “being cagey about its findings,” adding that carrying out investigations under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act would “lead to duplication of work amongst various agencies”.
All the three agencies were then directed to hold a joint meeting and the CBI was ordered to share specific information pertaining to money-laundering with the ED and findings of unaccounted wealth with the I-T department.
Following severe criticism from the court, the CBI, late last month swung into action and started picking key people involved in the scam. Meanwhile, the I-T officials have also started its scrutiny of accounts and moveable and immoveable assets held by the Adarsh Society members to ascertain the quantum of unaccounted money involved in the sale of apartments in the building.
Adarsh Scam: Trady investigations
Tatra Mafia
"We have observed in the last few days suspicious movements around our office and home. There is an international mafia that is connected to this scam and we fear for our lives. We will seek police protection," says Hanumathappa's son Ananda Kumar in Bangalore.
Tatra Whistleblowers fear death- gone underground to escape Tatra Mafia
Comment: The main Military players have still not been nabbed: Immovable and Movable property of the families of these Generals need to be probed:
1. The CAG report stated that, “General Deepak Kapoor and General NC Vij clearly had conflict of interest in the Adarsh case.”
2. Lt Gen Tejinder Singh "operates in tandem with a Major Hooda (Retd) and his son, both of whom are well known to Karthik Chidambaram,the influential son of Home Minister P Chidambaram". The younger Hooda, a presumed relative of the Haryana Chief Minister, is alleged to be "active in promoting the products of certain agencies, including foreign entities". These sources claim that Tejinder Singh was very close to a former Chief of Army Staff and that he "knows the incoming Chief of Army Staff, Lt Gen Bikramjit Singh, very well". Gen Tejinder is a Tatra Scamster linked with the IIT genious Ravi Rishi CEO of a maze of companies involved in money laundering and secret accounts.
These three top notch Generals were/ are members of Adarsh Society and it is common knowledge in military circles that they have taken bribes from Munition Vendors (difficult to prove of course), and their extended family members involved in money laundering for acquiring properities from other than known sources of income.
The question now remains... Can Chidambaram get to the bottom of the rot?
Who is Gen Tejinder Singh
Showing posts with label whistle blowers. Show all posts
Showing posts with label whistle blowers. Show all posts
Monday, April 16, 2012
Friday, October 29, 2010
RTI Logo & Portal Launched
PIB: Thursday, October 28, 2010The Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions Shri Prithviraj Chavan launched the Logo on RTI and the RTI portal today in the presence of Shri. A N. Tiwari, Chief Information Commission and Shri. Shantanu Consul, Secretary, DoPT.
It is a simple and iconic logo depicting a sheet of paper with information on it, and the public authority – providing the information. This represents people’s empowerment through transfer and accountability in Governance. The logo’s shape and structure make it easy to remember, recall and replicate with minimal distortion.
In the last five years the RTI regime has heralded a regime of transparency and accountability and strengthened the democratic structure of the country. Success stories of citizens using the RTI Act abound. The Act has achieved great success in empowering the citizens of India. However it was felt that the core values of the RTI regime – Empowerment, Transparency and Accountability- need to be given a shape in the form of a logo. The logo would be displayed at all public authorities and will be used in various communications related to RTI.
The Right to Information Portal – A Gateway on RTI – was also formally launched on this occasion. The portal is one stop knowledge bank for information seekers, information providers, trainers, Information Commissions, students and academicians. It provides for a digital library, discussion fora, e- newsletter and a blog. Latest judgments of the High Courts and Information Commissions; reports, articles, guides, manuals, handbooks for various stakeholders; online certificate course are also available on this portal. There is facility for stakeholders to interact through dedicated and open discussion forum and register as resource persons. The web URL for the Portal is www.rtigateway.org.in
RTI Logo & Portal Launched
RTI Portal
Thursday, September 9, 2010
Armed Forces now become saviors of CWG as OC has run out of funds
Make Games a grand success- India’s honour is at stake by Lt-Gen Vijay Oberoi (retd)
THE mess that the organisers of the 10th Commonwealth Games have made of it has sullied the honour and image of India. Unfortunately, while the Organising Committee (OC) has been in the eye of the storm, the mess is not confined to it. Here is a world class event, bid for by the country, for which ample time was available to the OC as well as to the entire Delhi Administration, and yet we find ourselves in such dire straits that neither the Games venues nor the infrastructure facilities in Delhi are ready. One should also not forget that the worthies of the Central government, who were supposedly keeping a close watch, continued to be somnolent till they were jolted by revelations in the media.
The media needs to be congratulated for bringing to the public domain how officials associated with organising the Games have misappropriated government funds and lined their own pockets. There is no end to such revelations, hoodwinking and passing the buck, but the culprits are either posturing or in a permanent state of denial while delays continue in all fields of activity, from infrastructure to what are euphemistically called “overlays”.
The latest are the gag orders issued to the coaches after the chief hockey coach, a Spaniard, in great anguish commented lucidly on the systemic failures of the nation in the field of sports, saying, “I have lost; your ‘system’ has won. I tried my best to change it; I pleaded, I cried, I did everything; but it won’t budge.” What a monumental shame!
The mess is not confined to the so-called world class infrastructure relating to the Games, but even in getting Delhi organised for the purpose. Let me mention just a few — the road communications within Delhi and the Metro extension; the grossly incomplete beautification drive undertaken by various agencies and not meeting even the targets of hotel rooms and other accommodation; all at such monumental costs. There can only be two reasons for this state of affairs — officials sitting over sanctions till their personal “demands” are met, and an abysmal lack of pride in the nation’s achievements. With every new revelation, the nation comes down another notch in the eyes of the world as well as our own people. It is not corruption per se that bothers the citizens, but the rampant loot of their hard-earned money, for public funds are after all created by numerous taxes which we all pay. Apparently, corruption no longer bothers us because it has now become a way of life in our country. There is no facet of India that is corruption-free.
In areas where a particular action may not be described as corruption, there is filching of public funds, again by both the high and the mighty as well as the officials who occupy the lower rungs of the bureaucracy, the police, etc. We seem to be so completely affected by our proverbial fatalistic outlook to life that we continue to withstand this onslaught of government officials and elected representatives without any major and collective backlash.
Reverting to the Games, once the media had exposed the skulduggery of the OC and the grossly inadequate preparations, it is to the credit of the Prime Minister that he moved fast, set up a Group of Ministers (GoM) as well as a Committee of Secretaries (CoS) to oversee all aspects of the preparations of the Games. A number of senior-level bureaucrats were also coopted to oversee each venue and expedite completion. It may well be a case of “too little too late”, but at least attempts are being made to retrieve a dismal situation.
At the same time, we have fallen into the trap of having “too many cooks.…”. So, there is a great danger of not meeting the aims and objectives.
In the Army, we cater for contingencies when the officer in command may become unavailable; his deputy takes over automatically and continues with his task. The advantages are obvious, but our political leaders as well as bureaucrats are loath to learn from the Army. So, we have a situation where the man in charge of the Games must be replaced, but we are unable to do so either on political grounds or because such a contingency was not planned for, and control could not change seamlessly.
There are also other major disadvantages. Besides diluting responsibility, we have managed to reduce accountability too. Resultantly, though the powers at the highest level have promised a full enquiry after the Games and severe punishment for those responsible, no one seems to believe it. Such is the loss of confidence of the “aam aadmi” in our leadership. Undoubtedly, a tragic situation! However, that is still in the future and such speculations at this time are unlikely to help in conducting the Games with a view to retrieving at least some of our image.
A few years back, the Army had conducted the World Military Games at Hyderabad, which were at a grand scale, with participation by over 70 nations. These Games were conducted flawlessly and earned kudos for the country. Luckily, some senior military officers who had played major roles in organising the military games have been coopted in the present games. They will undoubtedly do a stupendous job. One of them could have been made the deputy and we could have avoided the pitiable situation we are in. While on the subject of the military, how churlish it is on the part of the organisers to ask the serving personnel of the military who have been coopted for the most important tasks to do so gratis. Is this being suggested as a desperate measure to balance their books, although the paltry honorarium asked by the military is so minuscule that for the OC and the GoM to even suggest it is shameless, to say the least? It is only these military personnel who with their dedication and discipline will pull the chestnuts out of the fire for the OC and in doing so restore some of our lost image. Do pay them well.
At the end, it must be said that enough dirty linen has been washed in public. We need to end this now and concentrate on making the Games a grand success despite what has happened till now. There will be plenty of time and opportunity for recriminations and bringing the culprits to book after the Games. For the present, let us strive to put up a good show, for the sake of the country’s honour and reputation. In the long term, the nation will benefit. Once the Games are over, the media can go hammer and tongs after all the guilty and set examples for the future.
The writer is a former Vice-Chief of the Indian Army.
Make Games a grand success- India’s honour is at stake by Lt-Gen Vijay Oberoi (retd)
The maverick politician, Mani Shankar Aiyar fits into the classic description of a whistle blower. He has recently raised serious internal concerns about the alleged wrongdoing in the functioning of the Commonwealth Games; especially so by his bête-noire, the Chairman of the CWG Organising Committee, Suresh Kalmadi. His charges are serious since it is his party, the Congress which is in power in Delhi and the Centre. Besides, he has been Union Sports Minister who is no stranger to the reality of sordid, long gestation sports mismanagement in India. Aiyar is also a special invitee to his party’s apex decision-making body, the Congress Working Committee.
CLAWS WEBSITE
Read more; click here: Armed forces must rescue Delhi Commonwealth Games by Maj Gen Raj Mehta
Veterans Voice
The govt has used the armed forces for everything from going into the sewer lines, borewells, floods, Commonwealth Games, latest being ridding Delhi of mosquitoes and even have the audacity to say that a Armed forces personnel will NOT be paid any TA/DA/ Money for the duty in Commonwealth Games. The civilian bureaucracy/ officials are busy making money and pushing the armed forces as a scapegoat for all this fiasco (Only 50% funds are utilised rest is siphoned to their pockets). How is it that the Three CHIEFS are silent spectators? Where are we heading. SORRY I personally have no answer to such attitude towards the Armed Forces by THE GOVT.
Col Baldev Singh (Retd)
Citizens Voice
Miracles happen, so the Commonwealth Games may take place without some stadium roof collapsing. But that is not the issue. What we should really be worried about is: How do dunderheads, frauds and double-dealing fixers come to represent this great country? How do humbuggers, thimble-riggers and pettifogging pretenders get the power to humiliate us before the world?
Disgrace in the name of sports: click her to read more...
THE mess that the organisers of the 10th Commonwealth Games have made of it has sullied the honour and image of India. Unfortunately, while the Organising Committee (OC) has been in the eye of the storm, the mess is not confined to it. Here is a world class event, bid for by the country, for which ample time was available to the OC as well as to the entire Delhi Administration, and yet we find ourselves in such dire straits that neither the Games venues nor the infrastructure facilities in Delhi are ready. One should also not forget that the worthies of the Central government, who were supposedly keeping a close watch, continued to be somnolent till they were jolted by revelations in the media.
The media needs to be congratulated for bringing to the public domain how officials associated with organising the Games have misappropriated government funds and lined their own pockets. There is no end to such revelations, hoodwinking and passing the buck, but the culprits are either posturing or in a permanent state of denial while delays continue in all fields of activity, from infrastructure to what are euphemistically called “overlays”.
The latest are the gag orders issued to the coaches after the chief hockey coach, a Spaniard, in great anguish commented lucidly on the systemic failures of the nation in the field of sports, saying, “I have lost; your ‘system’ has won. I tried my best to change it; I pleaded, I cried, I did everything; but it won’t budge.” What a monumental shame!
The mess is not confined to the so-called world class infrastructure relating to the Games, but even in getting Delhi organised for the purpose. Let me mention just a few — the road communications within Delhi and the Metro extension; the grossly incomplete beautification drive undertaken by various agencies and not meeting even the targets of hotel rooms and other accommodation; all at such monumental costs. There can only be two reasons for this state of affairs — officials sitting over sanctions till their personal “demands” are met, and an abysmal lack of pride in the nation’s achievements. With every new revelation, the nation comes down another notch in the eyes of the world as well as our own people. It is not corruption per se that bothers the citizens, but the rampant loot of their hard-earned money, for public funds are after all created by numerous taxes which we all pay. Apparently, corruption no longer bothers us because it has now become a way of life in our country. There is no facet of India that is corruption-free.
In areas where a particular action may not be described as corruption, there is filching of public funds, again by both the high and the mighty as well as the officials who occupy the lower rungs of the bureaucracy, the police, etc. We seem to be so completely affected by our proverbial fatalistic outlook to life that we continue to withstand this onslaught of government officials and elected representatives without any major and collective backlash.
Reverting to the Games, once the media had exposed the skulduggery of the OC and the grossly inadequate preparations, it is to the credit of the Prime Minister that he moved fast, set up a Group of Ministers (GoM) as well as a Committee of Secretaries (CoS) to oversee all aspects of the preparations of the Games. A number of senior-level bureaucrats were also coopted to oversee each venue and expedite completion. It may well be a case of “too little too late”, but at least attempts are being made to retrieve a dismal situation.
At the same time, we have fallen into the trap of having “too many cooks.…”. So, there is a great danger of not meeting the aims and objectives.
In the Army, we cater for contingencies when the officer in command may become unavailable; his deputy takes over automatically and continues with his task. The advantages are obvious, but our political leaders as well as bureaucrats are loath to learn from the Army. So, we have a situation where the man in charge of the Games must be replaced, but we are unable to do so either on political grounds or because such a contingency was not planned for, and control could not change seamlessly.
There are also other major disadvantages. Besides diluting responsibility, we have managed to reduce accountability too. Resultantly, though the powers at the highest level have promised a full enquiry after the Games and severe punishment for those responsible, no one seems to believe it. Such is the loss of confidence of the “aam aadmi” in our leadership. Undoubtedly, a tragic situation! However, that is still in the future and such speculations at this time are unlikely to help in conducting the Games with a view to retrieving at least some of our image.
A few years back, the Army had conducted the World Military Games at Hyderabad, which were at a grand scale, with participation by over 70 nations. These Games were conducted flawlessly and earned kudos for the country. Luckily, some senior military officers who had played major roles in organising the military games have been coopted in the present games. They will undoubtedly do a stupendous job. One of them could have been made the deputy and we could have avoided the pitiable situation we are in. While on the subject of the military, how churlish it is on the part of the organisers to ask the serving personnel of the military who have been coopted for the most important tasks to do so gratis. Is this being suggested as a desperate measure to balance their books, although the paltry honorarium asked by the military is so minuscule that for the OC and the GoM to even suggest it is shameless, to say the least? It is only these military personnel who with their dedication and discipline will pull the chestnuts out of the fire for the OC and in doing so restore some of our lost image. Do pay them well.
At the end, it must be said that enough dirty linen has been washed in public. We need to end this now and concentrate on making the Games a grand success despite what has happened till now. There will be plenty of time and opportunity for recriminations and bringing the culprits to book after the Games. For the present, let us strive to put up a good show, for the sake of the country’s honour and reputation. In the long term, the nation will benefit. Once the Games are over, the media can go hammer and tongs after all the guilty and set examples for the future.
The writer is a former Vice-Chief of the Indian Army.
Make Games a grand success- India’s honour is at stake by Lt-Gen Vijay Oberoi (retd)
The maverick politician, Mani Shankar Aiyar fits into the classic description of a whistle blower. He has recently raised serious internal concerns about the alleged wrongdoing in the functioning of the Commonwealth Games; especially so by his bête-noire, the Chairman of the CWG Organising Committee, Suresh Kalmadi. His charges are serious since it is his party, the Congress which is in power in Delhi and the Centre. Besides, he has been Union Sports Minister who is no stranger to the reality of sordid, long gestation sports mismanagement in India. Aiyar is also a special invitee to his party’s apex decision-making body, the Congress Working Committee.
CLAWS WEBSITE
Read more; click here: Armed forces must rescue Delhi Commonwealth Games by Maj Gen Raj Mehta
Veterans Voice
The govt has used the armed forces for everything from going into the sewer lines, borewells, floods, Commonwealth Games, latest being ridding Delhi of mosquitoes and even have the audacity to say that a Armed forces personnel will NOT be paid any TA/DA/ Money for the duty in Commonwealth Games. The civilian bureaucracy/ officials are busy making money and pushing the armed forces as a scapegoat for all this fiasco (Only 50% funds are utilised rest is siphoned to their pockets). How is it that the Three CHIEFS are silent spectators? Where are we heading. SORRY I personally have no answer to such attitude towards the Armed Forces by THE GOVT.
Col Baldev Singh (Retd)
Citizens Voice
Miracles happen, so the Commonwealth Games may take place without some stadium roof collapsing. But that is not the issue. What we should really be worried about is: How do dunderheads, frauds and double-dealing fixers come to represent this great country? How do humbuggers, thimble-riggers and pettifogging pretenders get the power to humiliate us before the world?
Disgrace in the name of sports: click her to read more...
Thursday, December 17, 2009
No Character Certificate required for His Excellency Gen SF Rodrigues
Dear friends,
I am replying to this because my views have been sought. I have very high regards for His Excellency Gen Rodrigues as he has been a great general, a thorough gentleman and now a proven epitome of excellence as a truly apolitical Governor and an Administrator par excellence. The allegations and mud-slinging aimed at him is, however, not something in which he would need external support to fight and defend himself. In corruption ridden Indian polity today these are the inevitable concomitants of public life. A blot on a clean white shirt strikes the eye sharply. That's why incredible stories and scandals make striking headlines and sell well in the media.
Nevertheless, the accompanying mails are overly emotional. Giving character certificates to personalities like Gen Rodrigues is actually dwarfing his stature. Such emotional outbursts serve little purpose - nay, they antagonise the right thinking people and make them suspect our credentials.
As a trend seen in the recent past, almost all of our communications seem to be focused against the IAS, Babus or Bureaucrats. Unfortunately, in blaming them for all our problems, we do not make exceptions for even those who are a good lot among them. The truth is that, although their number is small, but there are good, honest and laudable Babus in India too. There have been a number of whistle blowers among the bureaucrats who have not bothered about their career and, in some cases, even risked their life. In UP, it is because of a good lot of bureaucrats that the black sheep within their own flock have been listed and exposed on the Internet.
Goodness is always in short supply. This is true of humans as well - be they bureaucrats, policemen, politicians and - let's face it - even soldiers! We know it there are good officers and bad officers in the Armed Forces. Fortunately, however, our judicial dispensation system is such that the 'bad' are sorted out well and proper faster than their likes in civil services. Despite this, there are often embarrassing aberrations involving even some very senior military officers.
Somehow, we have become too touchy. Any criticism, comment or a joke in the media is enough to put us off. One sees a spate of letters to the 'erring' Newspaper editors reprimanding them for their audacity to raise a finger at us! We make a laughing stock of ourselves! The nation holds us in high esteem even today. But of late we are seen only talking about ourselves and not for the serious problems they expect us to rise and speak up. National security, corruption, terrorism, widening communal/ regional divde, increasing number of criminals into Lok Sabha and state legislatures (they were 123 in the previous Lok Sabha, now they are more han 150 of whom 73 are with serious charges!). The day these issues are addressed, all problems of ESM would be solved and SOLDIERY will redeem its lost sheen and honour.
We write a lot of English loaded with unseemly anger and abuse hurled on the entire lot of bureaucrats from time to time. This time it involves a high dignitary (Gen Rodrigues) but without touching any facts of the case or issues involved. By raising the decibel level and kicking up a lot of dust achieves nothing good for us or for His Excellency. On the contrary, our outbursts might be embarrassing him. It is not only unnecessary but also goes to lower our credibility as responsible citizens imbued with integrity and fair-play.
I wish Gen Rodrigues a great innings full of honour and esteem as Governor of Punjab and Administrator of Chandigarh.
I request you all, my friends, to avoid muddying the matters any further. I hope I have not stepped on some one's toes. If so, I tender my apologies.
Regards,
Col Karan Kharb (Retd)
When overcharged with emotion, we run the risk of missing our focus - OROP and other demands for the ESM.
I am replying to this because my views have been sought. I have very high regards for His Excellency Gen Rodrigues as he has been a great general, a thorough gentleman and now a proven epitome of excellence as a truly apolitical Governor and an Administrator par excellence. The allegations and mud-slinging aimed at him is, however, not something in which he would need external support to fight and defend himself. In corruption ridden Indian polity today these are the inevitable concomitants of public life. A blot on a clean white shirt strikes the eye sharply. That's why incredible stories and scandals make striking headlines and sell well in the media.
Nevertheless, the accompanying mails are overly emotional. Giving character certificates to personalities like Gen Rodrigues is actually dwarfing his stature. Such emotional outbursts serve little purpose - nay, they antagonise the right thinking people and make them suspect our credentials.
As a trend seen in the recent past, almost all of our communications seem to be focused against the IAS, Babus or Bureaucrats. Unfortunately, in blaming them for all our problems, we do not make exceptions for even those who are a good lot among them. The truth is that, although their number is small, but there are good, honest and laudable Babus in India too. There have been a number of whistle blowers among the bureaucrats who have not bothered about their career and, in some cases, even risked their life. In UP, it is because of a good lot of bureaucrats that the black sheep within their own flock have been listed and exposed on the Internet.
Goodness is always in short supply. This is true of humans as well - be they bureaucrats, policemen, politicians and - let's face it - even soldiers! We know it there are good officers and bad officers in the Armed Forces. Fortunately, however, our judicial dispensation system is such that the 'bad' are sorted out well and proper faster than their likes in civil services. Despite this, there are often embarrassing aberrations involving even some very senior military officers.
Somehow, we have become too touchy. Any criticism, comment or a joke in the media is enough to put us off. One sees a spate of letters to the 'erring' Newspaper editors reprimanding them for their audacity to raise a finger at us! We make a laughing stock of ourselves! The nation holds us in high esteem even today. But of late we are seen only talking about ourselves and not for the serious problems they expect us to rise and speak up. National security, corruption, terrorism, widening communal/ regional divde, increasing number of criminals into Lok Sabha and state legislatures (they were 123 in the previous Lok Sabha, now they are more han 150 of whom 73 are with serious charges!). The day these issues are addressed, all problems of ESM would be solved and SOLDIERY will redeem its lost sheen and honour.
We write a lot of English loaded with unseemly anger and abuse hurled on the entire lot of bureaucrats from time to time. This time it involves a high dignitary (Gen Rodrigues) but without touching any facts of the case or issues involved. By raising the decibel level and kicking up a lot of dust achieves nothing good for us or for His Excellency. On the contrary, our outbursts might be embarrassing him. It is not only unnecessary but also goes to lower our credibility as responsible citizens imbued with integrity and fair-play.
I wish Gen Rodrigues a great innings full of honour and esteem as Governor of Punjab and Administrator of Chandigarh.
I request you all, my friends, to avoid muddying the matters any further. I hope I have not stepped on some one's toes. If so, I tender my apologies.
Regards,
Col Karan Kharb (Retd)
When overcharged with emotion, we run the risk of missing our focus - OROP and other demands for the ESM.
Saturday, August 29, 2009
India’s External Intelligence: Secrets of RAW: Outlook Scoop- 2007
Outlook scooped V.K. Singh's expose on RAW. Now, he's booked under the Official Secrets Act. Is this act meant for misuse? Saikat Datta: Draconian Law
What is wrong with the OSA?
Maj Gen V.K. Singh is the latest in the line of people to be targeted under the OSA. The law, which is heavily loaded against the accused, is usually invoked whenever the state wishes to settle scores or rein in whistleblowers. Here are some examples:
Reason: he detected serious flaws in the designs being drawn up for the prototype at the Bhaba Atomic Research Centre (BARC) in Trombay. This upset the top brass in the nuclear establishment. Subbarao was hounded out of BARC and arrested under OSA at Mumbai airport in 1990 before he boarded a flight to the US. His repeated appeals to the judiciary fell on deaf ears till the prosecuting agency was directed to come up with the "evidence" it had to prove his guilt. It turned out to be Subbarao's doctoral thesis on nuclear science, submitted to IIT Powai! As the case began to crumble, Subbarao had to face 65 judges in the search for justice. Finally, two years after his arrest, Subbarao was acquitted.
Reason: The opinion of the director general of military intelligence (DGMI) stating that the material recovered from Gilani was not secret was kept away from the courts. Finally, after then defence minister George Fernandes directed the DGMI to personally appear in court with his revised opinion, it was taken into account. The case was dismissed.
The OSA is a handy tool for the government because it is very vague on what is secret. A personal diary can be deemed "secret" if it is stamped by an official. Similarly, information passed on in the course of official work can become secret. And once anyone is arrested under OSA, there is little chance of bail.
With such blatant misuse, it was a welcome and overdue development when the Administrative Reforms Committee (ARC), in its first report a few months ago, targeted the OSA, saying it was "enacted in the colonial era". The ARC's chairman Veerappa Moily is unequivocal in his demand that the Act be repealed. "After the enactment of the RTI Act, the OSA, has no place to survive and even its relics may no longer remain," he says.
Echoing Moily is former member of the National Advisory Council and Magsaysay award winner Aruna Roy. "The OSA should have been scrapped in 1947 when we gained independence," she says.In fact, the scrapping of the OSA is a demand that has found support from across the political spectrum with former PM Atal Behari Vajpayee, L.K Advani and Jaswant Singh stating that the OSA, at the very least, needs to be reviewed. Congress spokesman Abhishek Manu Singhvi, in an article published in 2001, had pointed out that unlike the British OSA, the Indian Act continues to remain "unrevised despite decades of effort". Calling the OSA "anachronistic", Singhvi argued that to empower society, the government must "reduce the culture of secrecy and limit the power of service providers (bureaucrats) with the reforms of the OSA".
Not only does the OSA threaten individual freedom and liberties, it has also been used as a tool to deny information as Moushumi Basu, an associate professor at the centre for international politics, jnu, found out. During her doctoral research on the World Bank, she was shocked to learn that the loan agreements executed by India with the World Bank to bail itself out of its financial crisis in 1991 are state secrets. Recalls Basu: "When I asked Manmohan Singh, who was then only a Rajya Sabha member, he insisted that all these papers had been tabled in Parliament. But that is not the case and they continue to be a state secret. So not only is defence under OSA but even development programmes are under its ambit," says Basu.
Veteran journalist B.G. Verghese had a similar experience when he discovered that maps of Indian rivers, freely available on the internet and in shops, was actually covered under the OSA. Points out Verghese: "Information is power and that is why the bureaucrats want to deny citizens information. But in India instead of taking corrective measures we usually shoot the messenger." B. Raman, former additional secretary with RAW, says then prime minister V.P. Singh had set up two committees during his government. One was to examine whether the intelligence agencies could be brought under parliamentary oversight and the second to review the OSA. "There was unanimous opinion within the intelligence community that the British model of parliamentary oversight should be accepted."
But in the case of Major General V.K. Singh, the government seems to have let vendetta blind it from the fact that it has no shred of evidence against him. Little wonder then that his book has so far not been banned.
official secrets act: The Iron Fig Leaf
Monday, December 15, 2008
Declining Discipline in Government Organisations
December 13th, 2008 - 7:58 pm ICT by IANS
New Delhi, Dec 13 (IANS) An Indian Army colonel was arrested Friday night after a lady officer complained he had misbehaved with her, police said Saturday.”The incident took place Friday night. Colonel Sunder Yadav, 52, was with the lady officer, a captain, who is a doctor at base hospital in Delhi cantonment. The victim told us that when Yadav started to misbehave with her, she somehow managed to get out of the car they were in,” a senior police officer said.
The lady officer then called a police control room van and complained of the harassment. Yadav was arrested for misbehaving with the victim but later released on bail, the police officer added. Yadav is a registrar at Army College of Medical Sciences in Delhi Cantonment.
Indian Army colonel arrested for misbehaviour
Four months ago...
RAW woman official attempts suicide over harassment
NEW DELHI: A woman RAW official tried to commit suicide by consuming poison outside the Prime Minister's Office on Tuesday. The incident has brought the country's external intelligence agency under public gaze yet again.
Nisha Bhatia was posted at the training centre of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) in Gurgaon. She had been claiming that she was being sexually harassed by her superiors at RAW.
Bhatia reached the PMO on Tuesday afternoon and demanded to meet an official posted there. However, on being denied entry, she consumed *** poison in front of the office in the high security area. She was immediately rushed to the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital where the doctors did a stomach wash. Her condition was stated to be out of danger.
Bhatia was in the rank of Director in the RAW and posted in the training division.
The Government has already constituted an inquiry into her complaint of sexual harassment by unnamed superiors in the RAW. A Joint Secretary on deputation to RAW is the main accused.
In 2004, RAW was in the news when Rabinder Singh, a Joint Secretary-level officer in RAW, escaped to the US. Later, several allegations were levelled by a former official Maj Gen (Retd) V K Singh about corruption in the agency.
RAW officer tries to kill herself at PMO.
Comment: The heads of the Government Organisations are solely responsible for discipline. Sexual harassment, corruption and crime involves larger issues and needs to investigated from the top to bottom and not the other way around. Whistle blowers need to be protected.
New Delhi, Dec 13 (IANS) An Indian Army colonel was arrested Friday night after a lady officer complained he had misbehaved with her, police said Saturday.”The incident took place Friday night. Colonel Sunder Yadav, 52, was with the lady officer, a captain, who is a doctor at base hospital in Delhi cantonment. The victim told us that when Yadav started to misbehave with her, she somehow managed to get out of the car they were in,” a senior police officer said.
The lady officer then called a police control room van and complained of the harassment. Yadav was arrested for misbehaving with the victim but later released on bail, the police officer added. Yadav is a registrar at Army College of Medical Sciences in Delhi Cantonment.
Indian Army colonel arrested for misbehaviour
Four months ago...
RAW woman official attempts suicide over harassment
NEW DELHI: A woman RAW official tried to commit suicide by consuming poison outside the Prime Minister's Office on Tuesday. The incident has brought the country's external intelligence agency under public gaze yet again.
Nisha Bhatia was posted at the training centre of the Research and Analysis Wing (RAW) in Gurgaon. She had been claiming that she was being sexually harassed by her superiors at RAW.
Bhatia reached the PMO on Tuesday afternoon and demanded to meet an official posted there. However, on being denied entry, she consumed *** poison in front of the office in the high security area. She was immediately rushed to the Ram Manohar Lohia Hospital where the doctors did a stomach wash. Her condition was stated to be out of danger.
Bhatia was in the rank of Director in the RAW and posted in the training division.
The Government has already constituted an inquiry into her complaint of sexual harassment by unnamed superiors in the RAW. A Joint Secretary on deputation to RAW is the main accused.
In 2004, RAW was in the news when Rabinder Singh, a Joint Secretary-level officer in RAW, escaped to the US. Later, several allegations were levelled by a former official Maj Gen (Retd) V K Singh about corruption in the agency.
RAW officer tries to kill herself at PMO.
Comment: The heads of the Government Organisations are solely responsible for discipline. Sexual harassment, corruption and crime involves larger issues and needs to investigated from the top to bottom and not the other way around. Whistle blowers need to be protected.
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