This is a good site. For making it more powerful the public should be enabled to send the important news going on in the government. I think till day it is not there.
Dev Kant

Contact-suresh.mehrotra@yahoo.com> & <mehrotra.suresh@gmail.com>

Aaj Ki Aawaz

After Rahul comes Laloo and planks himself on the bench.

Laloo: Why are you looking at me like that? What's so funny???? In politics winning and loosing is part of the game.... I'll bounce back....... just wait and see!!!

Me: Laloo ji you are wearing your pullover upside down!!

Laloo: Arre someone else in my place would have not been able to come here for a walk....would be in a hospital ..... arre now I realize why Rabdi was giggling when I left home!!! Budhape mein masti karti hai!!

Me: Aren't you worried that now the Bihar Public has now made performance as its yardstick for voting?

Laloo: We too had performed but the Media which has a bias against regional Parties played RJD's performance down!!

Me: But Laloo ji performance is felt and not informed! When it is informed then rest assured Sarkaar has not performed!!!

Laloo: Arre Biharis are still enamoured by me.... Laloo dolls are still very popular!

Me: Now the dolls used for ridicule.

Lallo: Hutt..... badhbukk! I hear some use it as a 'nazar pattu' outside the house!

Next comes Kalmadi in his Asian Games track suit.

Kalmadi: Sir if they give me this park I'll convert it into a World Class Park with a World Class walking and jogging track!!

Me: Haven't you done and made enough?

Kalmadi: (with a forced smile on his face) Sir I want to give India the best facilities.... is there something wrong with this. Did you see the opening and closing ceremonies of the Commonwealth Games?

Me: Sir your intentions may be good but the general perception is you have made a lot of money from Sports! And the Opening and Closing ceremonies cost India a packet and today its all a memory! A very costly memory!

Kalmadi: Just see India's performance at the Commonwealth and Asian Games!

Me: Please do not try to take credit for the hard work of our Sportsmen! If you check out the facilities and equipment they had to practice in and with you will realize that its all their hard work that paid off! In fact you guys made the going difficult with your money making and politicking!!

Kalamadi: (dripping honey) You must come and meet me at my Office! Here's my card. I'd like to give you memorabilia from the Commonwealth and Asian Games!

Me: Are you trying to buy me out!

Kalmadi: Bye..... hope you take up my offer!

Just as I start reading the headlines Raja comes and sits on the bench.

Raja: Ayi ayi yo..... how can they say I threatened a judge.... I'm a very docile man!

Just then on my mobile I get a news sms that Raja has been raided!

Me: You've been raided by CBI! But then I'm sure you knew about this..... must have cleaned your home and Office!

Raja: Like any Tamilain household my house is always clean. I welcome the CBI raids!

Me: Spoken like Laloo and Mulayam! You've made so much money.... why not retire and enjoy it!

Raja: I'm in the service of Kalaignar. And I'll continue till he wants me to!

Me: In a way you have indicated that the scam was at the instance of your Kalaignar......in Tamil this term means Artiste or Artisan! So is he the artiste behind this scam?

Raja: (slapping himself on both cheeks) Ayi ayi yo.......how can you even think of this? This is blasphemy for me...... I cannot sit on the same bench as you!

Ghadkari ambles his way and sits heavily on the bench. The sound literally scares me!

Me: Sambhal ke..... be careful!!

Ghadkari: Be careful in the Park.... be careful in BJP Office...... in Delhi you just have to be careful! Sick of it. I really envy Congress's High Command culture. High Command does not need to be careful and every one stays in line!

Me: But BJP is supposed to be the cadre based disciplined Party!

Ghadkari: My foot....... now what was the need for Advani Ji to issue a statement??? Now again he's thrown his hat into ' if NDA comes to power who will be PM' ring!

Me: Sorry but your lacklustre Stewardship is responsible for Advani standing up again!

Ghadkari: What lacklustre Leadership..... it is now that people have started saying BJP could come to power again at the Centre!

Me: I felt that it's more because of Congress committing harakiri!!

Ghadkari: I think I've been instrumental in Congress doing this!

Me: How's that???

Ghadkari: Because I tactfully gave Congress the feeling that BJP's in the doldrums and so Congress became careless!!

Me: Wah Ghadkari Ji.... what humour!!! You are rightfully known for your sense of humour!

Ghadkari: Shukriya.... achcha toh mein chalta hoo (sings it )!!!

Just then the entire Park looks like a fortress. There are Security personnel everywhere. One of them comes and sits on the bench I'm seated on and gives me a 'beware' look! Then I see the reason for this security. Sonia's taking a walk. She comes and takes a breather on the bench I'm seated on and Security fellow jumps up like a jack in the box!

Sonia: Ooof I hope you'll not start one more of your imaginary interviews!

Me: Not at all... I did not even know you were coming!

Sonia: I understand you were cribbing about inaction in various matters.......do you know how much thought process goes into taking decisions?

Me: But Madam it seems that Congress is just delaying the inevitable..... maybe watching if the delay can get the issue 'out of sight and out of mind'!

Sonia: There's a due process in Congress ...... my think tank has to process the issue and then Rahul, Priyanka and me sit down and we decide!

Me: So where's the delay?????

Sonia: This is the holiday season and quite a few in my think tank team are on holiday!

Me: So Madam as they holiday the Nation waits for you to decide. 17 days of Parliament has been wasted!

Sonia: NDA wasted more time of the Parliament when it was in power by denying our justified demands! And now BJP is wasting more time my creating a shindy in Parliament everyday!

Me: So Madam in the end it's the same excuse...... NDA and BJP did this so why can't we?

Sonia: You tell me after the Bhangaru expose what was BJP's response???? Or when we demanded Fernandes resign... what was NDA's response!!

Me: Madam Ji I give up. Bye And I walk away!!

Bharat Kumar
aaj_ki_aawaz@yahoo.com

Sanjay Singh to be Secretary East in MEA ?
Indian Ambassador to Iran Sanjay Singh is reportedly returning to the MEA Headquarters to take over as secretary (East).

Will Chanda succeed Prasad ?
Will Dr A K Chanda join the Government of India this month end? 1976 batch West Bengal cadre IAS officer Dr Chanda is likely to succeed Anil Bhushan Prasad as Secretary National Disaster Management Authority. Prasad is retiring on January 1.

One dozen 1980 batch IAS officers yet to be promoted
One dozen 1980 batch IAS officers posted in Delhi are yet to get promotion to the rank of Additional Secretary. Of the total 20 empanelled IAS officers of this batch eight have been promoted on Tuesday.

Extension to SEBI Chief shrouded by uncertainty
There is an element of uncertainty regarding extension to present Chairman of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), C.B. Bhave. Media reports to this effect has given rife to this kind of speculation.

An IAS officer to be an MD, SBI ?
There are indications that for the first time an IAS officer is going to be appointed as one of the four Managing Directors (MDs) in the State Bank of India (SBI).

Panel for DRM soon
Process has commenced in the Rail Bhawan to prepare new panel for the DRMs.

CBDT's burden reduced
Burden of the CBDT's personnel department has been reduced in accordance with a decision by the Finance Minister in 2007. Accordingly, DGIT (HR) has been entrusted with personnel matter. Hitherto it was being looked after by a CSS cadre officer in the CBDT.

Reddy is now Vice Chairman of NDMA
Government has nominated M. Shashidhar Reddy, presently a member of the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) as Vice Chairman of NDMA.

Ahmad is new Member of NDMA
Dr. Muzaffar Ahmad, former Director, Health Services, Jammu & Kashmir has been appointed as a member of NDMA.

Lt Gen Roy is DG of Assm Rifles
Lieutenant General Rameshwar Roy has taken over as the 26th Director General of Assam Rifles.Roy was commissioned in the 7th Battalion of Jammu and Kashmir Rifles in 1973.Before taking over as the DG of Assam Rifles on December 6, Roy was in command of the prestigious 16 Corps in Nagrota in Jammu and Kashmir.

Swadeep Singh gets extension in ONGC
Swadeep Singh,CVO, Oil & Natural Gas Corpn Ltd (ONGC), Ministry of Petroleum & Natural Gashas GOI has been given 3 months extension.He is an IAS officer of the 1979 batch who belongs to the MP cadre.

Srinivas is now Director DoPT
B.Srinivas has completed his training at National Defence College, New Delhi and now posted as Director, DOP&T, Government of India.He is an IAS officer of the1991 batch who belongs to the Kerala cadre.

Three Member panel formed for IMF's Senior Advisor
As many as three IAS officers figure in the panel for the post of IMF's Senior Advisor. Who will make it ?

Ms. Anuradha Thakur poised to be Director, World Bank
As the grapevine has it, Ms. Anuradha Thakur, Director in the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA), who is on central deputation, is poised to go to the World Bank (WB) as a Director. She is an IAS officer of the 1994 batch who belongs to the Himachal Pradesh cadre.

IPS officer is Director Health in GoI
Suresh Kunhi Mohammad, Consultant, NACO Delhi has been appointed as Director, Ministry of Health&Family Welfare, Government of India.He is an IPS officer of the1992 batch who belongs to the Karnataka cadre.

Manish Prabhat to return to India
Manish Prabhat who is Moscow based Indian Counsellor is returning to India. He is an Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer of the 1996 batch.

Charanjeet Singh to be India's Counsellor in Paris
Charanjeet Singh is set to go to Paris as India's Counsellor. Presently, he is Director Multi Economic Relations (MER) in the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA). He is an Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer of the 1996 batch.

Ms. Manika Jain to be India's Counsellor in Lisbon
Ms. Manika Jain who is currently Dharamshala (Himachal Pradesh) based Director of the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) is poised to be Lisbon based India's Counsellor. She is an Indian Foreign Service (IFS) officer of the 2002 batch.

Suneet Mehta joins MEA
Suneet Mehta (lFS 2007) has joined MEA as Under Secretary (GA & Cadre) in place of Kartik Pande. Mehta has returned from posting in Madrid.

New post to be created in CBI
A new post of Joint Director, Economic Offence Wing for Central Bureau of Investigation in Mumbai is being created.

Pervez Dewan in race for new CS, J & K
As the grapevine has it, Pervez Dewan is one of the four IAS officers of Jammu & Kashmir cadre who are in race for the post of Chief Secretary. The present incumbent S.S. Kapur will retire on January 31, 2011. Dewan is an IAS officer of the 1977 batch who belongs to Jammu & Kashmir cadre. Presently he is on a long study leave.

One year extension mooted for Ambresh Singh
As the grapevine has it, a proposal for extending deputation tenure of Ambresh Singh, Director Culture in Government of India (GoI), has been mooted. His tenure is going to conclude later this month. He is an Indian Revenue Service (IRS) officer.

Singh to be CME, WCR-Jabalpur
P.S. Singh, who is currently posted as Chief Rolling Stock Engineer (CRSE), Kolkata, is soon going to be Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) in West Central Railway (WCR), Jabalpur.

SBI official Ketkar transferred
Jayant Manohar Ketkar, Deputy General Manager, Commercial Branch, Mid Corporate Group, Ahmedabad, has been posted as Deputy General Manager, Diamond Market Branch, Mid Corporate Group, Mumbai.

Garima Bhatnagar transferred as Addl.CP Vigilance Delhi Police
Ms.Garima Bhatnagar Addl. Commissioner of DelhiPolice (Crime Against Women Cell) has been transferred as Addl.Commissioner of Police (Vigilance). She is an IPS officer of the 1994 batch who belongs to the AGMU cadre.

V.Ranganathan transferred as DCP, West District Delhi
The Delhi government V. Renganathan Deputy Commissioner of Delhi Police (Vigilance)has been transferred as Deputy Commissioner of Police (West district). He is an IPS officer of the 1997 batch who belongs to the AGMU cadre.

Sharad Agrawal transferred as DCP South West District, Delhi
The Delhi government V. Renganathan Deputy Commissioner of Delhi Police (Vigilance)has been transferred as Deputy Commissioner of Police (West district). He is an IPS officer of the 1997 batch who belongs to the AGMU cadre.

A.K. Singh transferred as DCP Spl. Branch, Delhi
A.K Singh DCP (Economic Offences Wing) has been transferred as DCP Special branch, Delhi Police. He is an IPS officer of the 1999 batch who belongs to the AGMU cadre.

Mohd Asif transferred as Addl.DCP Crime Against Women Cell, Delhi
Asif Mohammad Ali Additional Deputy Commissioner of Delhi Police (Economic Offences Wing) has been transferred as Addl. Commissioner of Police (CAW Cell)He is an DANPS officer AGMU cadre.

Dwivedi transferred as Addl. CP, New Delhi
K.C. Dwivedi Additional Commissioner of Delhi Police (East District)has been transferred as Additional Commissioner of Police (New Delhi District). He is an IPS officer of the 1995 batch who belongs to the AGMU cadre.

Mohan gets additional charge of MD, Delhi Police Housing Corporation
The Delhi government has entrusted Joint Commissioner of Police (Press and Information) T.N. Mohan, with the additional charge of MD (Delhi Police Housing Corporation). He is an IPS officer of the 1986 batch.

Vivek Kishore transferred as DCP Central District Delhi
Vivek Kishore Deputy Commissioner of Police (Special branch)has been transferred as Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central District). He is an IPS officer of the 1999 batch who belongs to the AGMU cadre .

I.B Rani promoted as DCP, East District, Delhi
Ms.I.B. Rani Addl. Deputy Commissioner of Delhi Police, East district has been posted in the same district as DCP. She is an IPS officer of the 2000 batch who belongs to the AGMU cadre.

Additional Judge of Kerala High Court appointed
Narchi Kundil Balakrishnan has been appointed an Additional Judge of the Kerala High Court, for a period of two years, with effect from the date he assumes charge of his office.

Judges of Kerala High Court appointed
Six Additional Judges have been appointed as Judges of the Kerala High Court. They include Justice Surendra Mohan Kuriakose, Justice Parappillil Ramakrishnan Nair Ramachandra Menon, Justice Chandra Villa Koyanalipilla Abdul Rehim, Justice Chudalayil Thevan Ravikumar, Justice Parameswaran Bhavadasan and Justice Soudamini Amma Sankaranarayana Pilla Satheesachandran.

Parmeshwaran posted as SDO, Mount Abu
The Rajasthan Government has on return from training, posted B. Parmeshwaran as Sub Divisional Officer, Mount Abu (Sirohi). He is an IAS officer of the 2008 batch who hails from the Rajasthan cadre.

Kerala Govt suspends Wayanad Collector Bhaskaran
The Kerala Government has suspended Wayanad district Collector T. Bhaskaran following the job scam in Waynad district. Bhaskaran was earlier transferred. He is an IAS officer of the 2004 batch who hails from the Kerala cadre.

Sarangi is now ACS Home in Maharashtra (UPDATED)
Outgoing CMD of NABARD U C Sarangi is back to the parent Maharastra cadre.On return 1977 batch IAS officer Sarangi has been appointed ACS Home.

38 SBI officials promoted to the rank of CGM (UPDATED)
As many as 38 senior officials in the State Bank of India have been promnoted to the grade of Chief General Manager. They are Uday Shankar Sohoni, Sushil Kumar Mishra, S Sridharan, Sharad Sharma, Sanjay Wamanrao Tanksale, Shriram Bhaskar Bejahwar, B.S.R Prasad, Ronji Suchet Chaudhuri, Samir Kant Saran, Asim Kumar Banerjee, Rammohan Rao Belle, Ranjit Goswami, Mrs. Sasikala Varadachari, Mrs. Jyotsana Madhu Jamkhaildi, Surender Kumar Gagroo, Mrinal Shankar Devaprasad Mozumder, Vishvesh Ramamoorthy, Narender Kumar Gupta, Mrs. Anuradha Gupra, D. Chandrasekhara Rao, Supriyo Kumar Chaudhuri, Nihal Sudhir Kujur, Rajeev Krishnan, V. Murali, Bhaskar Niyogi, Vellurgopal Raghavan Kannan, Krishnamoorthy Venkataraman, Raman Chinnaiyan, N. Jambunathan, Deepak Kumar Chatterjee, Mrs. Sudha Malhotra, Rajeev Kumar Seth, Ashwini Mehra, Mrs. Usha R. Nair, Rakesh Sharma, Jeevandas Narayan and B Sriram.

17 IRS officers promoted as Jt Commissioner of Customs and Central Excise (UPDATED)
As many as 17 IRS (C&CE) officers in the grade of Deputy Commissioner (Grade-V) have been promoted to the grade of Joint Commissioner of Customs and Central Excise (Grade-IV) . They are K. Virendra Kumar Suman, D. Anil, V.R. Eliza, Ms. Kapil Choudhary, Praduymn Kumar Tripathi, Shobhit Jain, Prashant Kumar, Imamuddin Ahmad, Atul Handa, Ms. Vrindaba Laxman Singh Gohil, Harish Kumar, Kunduru S.V.V. Prasad, Vinish Choudhry, Dinesh K. Chakravarthy, Satyendra Mathuria, Anil Ramteke and Talla V. Ravi.

DMRC MD gets one year extension (UPDATED)
Managing Director of the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) E Sreedharan has been given a year's extension as the Managing Director.

RTI

Preferential allottment of shares of RIL

A copy of the action taken by SEBI from the time of the filing of the
complaint by S. Gurumurthy regarding the preferential allotment of
shares to the promoters of RIL through 34 Ambani companies along with
the file notings, a copy of the findings of SEBI, Justice Srikrishna
report etc. was sought. The CPIO informed that the information could
not be disclosed as, though the investigation was completed, the
process of prosecution might be impeded by parting of information at
this stage. Holding the claim that its disclosure would impede the
process of investigation as untenable, the CIC directed to disclose
the information.

Comments

The Delhi High Court judgement in the Bhagat Singh case which
delineated the application of Section 8(1)(h) of the RTI Act has made
it clear that mere pendency of prosecution cannot be a basis for
denial of information. For the share market to mature, information
about the scams - whether the Harshad Mehta scam or others, must be
put in the public domain.

Arun Kumar Agrawal v. SEBI in F.No.CIC/AT/A/2010/000694

- Weekly article by Dr. (Mrs.) Anuradha Verma
(dranuradhaverma@yahoo.co.in), RTI Consultant to IIM, Indore and
Co-author of the book: RIGHT TO INFORMATION - LAW AND PRACTICE by
Taxmann. (The views are Personal)

26 IRTS officers promoted to SAG grade (UPDATED)
The Railways has promoted 26 IRTS officers of the 1989 batch to SAG grade.

IRTS officer Ravinesh Kumar promoted (UPDATED)
Ravinesh Kumar CVO, NBCC (GoI) has been promoted to SAG. He is an IRTS officer of 1989 batch.

IRTS officer Sreekumar promoted, transferred to SWR (UPDATED)
IRTS officer N. Sreekumar (1989 batch) has been promoted from Southern Railways to South Western Railways.

IRTS officer V. Shankar promoted, transferred to NCR (UPDATED)
IRTS officer V. Shankar of 1989 batch has been promoted to SAG and transferred from North Western Railways to North Central Railways, (IRPMU).

IRTS officer Manoj Singh promoted (UPDATED)
IRTS officer Manoj Singh (1989 batch) posted with the South Eastern Railways has been promoted to SAG and posted in SER.

IRTS officer N. Sriniwas promoted, transferred to SWR (UPDATED)
IRTS officer, N. Sriniwas of the 1989 batch) posted in South Central Railways has been promoted to SAG and transferred to South Western Railways.

IRTS officer S. Majumdar promoted, transferred to SWR (UPDATED)
IRTS officer, S. Majumdar of the 1989 batch posted in South Eastern Railways has been promoted to SAG and transferred to East Central Railways ADRM/Brka.

IRTS officer Naik promoted, transferred to SER (UPDATED)
IRTS officer, D.Y. Naik of the 1989 batch presently posted with the South Eastern Railways has been promoted to SAG and posted in SER.

IRTS officer Vivek Srivastava promoted (UPDATED)
Vivek Srivastava IRTS officer of the 1989 batch posted in Northern Railways has been promoted to SAG and posted with NR.

IRTS officer C. Swain promoted (UPDATED)
C. Swain IRTS officer of the 1989 batch posted in South East Central Railways has been promoted to SAG and posted with SECR.

IRTS officer Sanjay Bajpai promoted, transferred to ECOR (UPDATED)
Sanjay Bajpai IRTS officer of the 1989 batch posted in Railway Board has been promoted to SAG and posted with ECOR.

IRTS officer Prabhat Ranjan promoted (UPDATED)
Prabhat Ranjan IRTS officer of the 1989 batch posted in Central Railways has been promoted to SAG and posted with CR.

IRTS officer Alok Sharma promoted, transferred to NFR (UPDATED)
Alok Sharma IRTS officer of the 1989 batch posted with the Northern Railways has been promoted to SAG and posted with NFR.

IRTS officer R.K. Kashyap promoted, transferred to NER (UPDATED)
R.K. Kashyap IRTS officer of the 1989 batch posted with the Railway Board has been promoted to SAG and posted with NER.

IRTS officer Mohd. Owais promoted, transferred ECR (UPDATED)
Mohd Owais IRTS officer of the 1989 batch posted in East Central Railways has been promoted to SAG and posted with ECR.

IRTS officer Sanjay Mishra promoted, posted to ER (UPDATED)
Sanjay Mishra IRTS officer of the 1989 batch posted in North Railways has been promoted to SAG and posted with ER.

IRTS officer J.S. Meena promoted (UPDATED)
J.S. Meena IRTS officer of the 1989 batch posted in North Western Railways has been promoted to SAG and posted with NWR.

IRTS officer G. Vishwanathan promoted (UPDATED)
G. Vishwanathan IRTS officer of the 1989 batch posted in Southern Railways has been promoted to SAG and posted with SR.

CORPORATE
R K Singh is new CMD of BPCL
R. K. Singh is taking over on Thursday as the new Chairman and Managing Director of Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd. (BPCL).

( We said this on September 27 )

Honorary Fellowship conferred on ONGC CMD
ONGC CMD R S Sharma was conferred with the Honorary CEPM - PMA Fellowship by the Chief Minister of Delhi Mrs. Sheila Dixit at the 18th Global Symposium 2010 at a glittering function organized at New Delhi. The theme of the symposium organised by The Centre for Excellence in Project Management (CEPM) and Project Management Associate (CEPM-PMA) was "Managing Infrastructure Projects and Lessons Learnt from the Best Practices from Asia Pacific Region". The fellowship was given to Sharma for significant achievements ONGC has made under his dynamic stewardship as Chairman and Managing Director.

Garg appointed Vice-Chairman K S Oils
K S Oils, one of India's leading integrated edible oil company, has appointed Sourabh Garg as Vice-Chairman. Currently he is an Executive Director in the company.

Churiwala is CFO, Ambuja Cements
Ambuja Cements Limited has appointed Sanjeev Churiwala as the Chief
Financial Officer(CFO) of the Company with effect from March 1, 2011.
He will succeed the present CFO Mr. David Atkinson.

Satwalekar resigns from HDFC Ltd
Deepak M Satwalekar has resigned as a Director of Housing Development
Finance Corporation Ltd due to personal reasons.

Rajappa shifted from Everest Brand Solutions
D Rajappa, President, Everest Brand Solutions has been shifted to Rediffusion Y&R. However his designation is not yet been announced.

Banerjee no longer Director, Hinduja Ventures
Prabal Banerjee ceased to be Director of Hinduja Ventures Ltd upon his resignation with effect from December 07, 2010.

Palakodeti no longer Director, Hinduja Ventures
Srinivas Palakodeti, Alternate Director to Prabal Banerjee also ceases to be a Director of Hinduja Ventures Ltd with effect from December 07, 2010.

Elias resigns as Director, Colgate Palmolive (India)
M.A. Elias has resigned as the Whole-time Director and Director of Colgate Palmolive (India) Ltd the Company with effect from close of business hours on November 30, 2010.

Kamath resigns as Director , Carol Info Services
Anil Kamath has resigned from the Directorship of Carol Info Services Ltd w.e.f. December 07, 2010.

Khan appointed Non Exec. Dir. Carol Info Services
Shahnawaz Khan has been appointed as a Non Executive Independent Director of Carol Info Services Ltd w.e.f. December 7, 2010.

Dilip Jayaram to head Ad Sales for Dish TV
Dilip Jayaram has been appointed National Ad Sales Head of DishTV. He will report to Salil Kapoor, COO, Dish TV and will be responsible for driving the Ad Sales and establishing the TV as a preferred platform for advertisers across the country.

Bhawna is COO Seventymm.com
Seventymm.com, India's leading online movie entertainment company, has announced the appointment of Bhawna Agarwal as Chief Operating Officer. She was the founding member of Yatra.com.

FORUM
(The views expressed in this column are of the contributors. We do not owe any responsibility, whatsoever, of the views of our surfers as they are their personal opinion. However, we would also request our contributors not to be personal, directly or indirectly, in presenting their views. Instead of countering the views which ‘X’ has already expressed, our contributors are advised to present their own views. Also be brief, say about 200 words at the most since any views longer than that if eliminated at our end would carry the risk of the contrbutor’s item losing its original essence)


Declining standards of public authorities

I am greatly concerned about the rapidly plummeting standards of decency / propriety of public authorities. In case of PJ Thomas, the CVC, it is astounding how he has got selected as CVC in the first place. I am aware that even with small dents in the career (for example a CCR grading of "Good" in place of "Öutstanding"), officers are put on back burner, even though they are otherwise outstanding in work. God forbid, if there is a censure/ warning/ minor punishment then the officer can kiss his promotion goodbye for all time to come. When such are the service standards, how was Thomas, against whom a criminal case was pending, for which no authority can give "vigilance Clearance", was selected to the hallowed portal of a CVC? Indeed, in the past such impeccable persons have adorned the post (like Shankar, Vittal, Sinha). That such an egregious and wanton blunder in his selection smacks of outstanding stupidity of the triumvirate who mattered. What sort of vigilance control can such a Central Vigilance Commission exercise? I am quite worried about such whimsical and damaging handling of constitutional posts. The Supreme Court should come to rescue and flush such persons down the drain.

S Srinivasan

Another scam in Telecom ?

One year ago, the Union cabinet had approved 9000 crores to the BSNL, for building an alternate fiberoptic communications net for the armed forces, so that 3G spectrum can be released for auction to private players. Latest news reports indicate that BSNL has miscalculated the project cost, and is going to request an additional 5000 crores from the cabinet. Sarkari incompetence cannot explain how somebody goofed up so badly, that they erred, causing an inflation by over 55% in just one year in their estimate. Given the recent goings on in the telecom ministry, something stinks of another scam. Perhaps, in his eagerness to auction 3G, someone in telecom ministry, had assured defence ministry, because of whose objections spectrum was not being allotted, that it could be done quick and cheaply? A very thorough investigation is required.

Aditya

CM only asked him to bend, why did he crawl?

Robert Jones weak defense of P.J Thomas is no great article of oratory akin to that of Sir Edmund Burke. Poor dear P.J ?For 19 years, Sir Thomas has been "unable to prove his innocence" or find a forum where he can present his side of the case? says Jones. After 19 years even Media not listening & indulging in trial by media. Helpless, wronged & silently suffering for 19 years, poor IAS officer who merely carried out orders of his superiors, as it is his duty to meekly sign files & issue orders conveyed to him, it is not his job to brief his political masters of violation of any rules etc because that is inconvenient, his job is to close eyes & obey & take his salary, promotion, perks & passively enjoy life & yet the Media is so merciless. Why doesn't Thomas request Karunakaran to testify in Court in his favour & prove his innocence. What kind of GoI scheme is this in which no rules are to be followed & tenders not required to be floated? Was central tender floated ? Jones wants to imply that the IAS Officers of Tamil Nadu & West Bengal should also be punished. Even so those officers are certainly not holding the post of CVC so why the comparison. That same old trick. Point fingers at others & say he did it, he also did it & him & him, so if so many did it then it becomes law of land & hence no flouting of rules. Implicate as many people as you can so that attention is diverted, issue diluted & lobby group & vested interests increase & drown the main issue-divert attention & sit back & enjoy. There can be no justification to stick on to chair, he has lost all sympathy because of this tendency of clinging on to chair.

Dimpy Chopra

Why should innocents pay with their lives ?

What was little Swastika's fault that she was killed even before she learnt to stand. Does Islam or any other religion teach that innocents should be killed with such butchery. Varanasi blast at the Dashmadhev Ghat when that beautiful Arti to Ganga is in progress focuses once again on the evil of terrorism which has plagued our world. How can human beings become so mean, cruel and savage. Those who have claimed responsibility for this latest act of terrorism cite the demolition of Babri Masjid the reason for this. Was this little baby or those injured including a few tourists responsible for that demolition. That happened 18 years ago. Why we keep the memories of bad incidents alive for ever. What was Babri Masjid? A nonfunctional mosque built hundreds of years ago by a Mughal king who came from outside and made us his Gulam. Of course the act of demolition was itself an insane act but then it was an old dilapidated structure which was the target. While we are keen to punish those who indulged in this act of insanity we do not bother to book those who destroy public property everyday. Some demand and we think of nothing in burning buses, Railway coaches, blowing up tracks and roads, putting on fire the police stations and other functional buildings. Sometimes one really wonders whether we have a rule of law or justice in this country. Who is going to wipe the tears of the parents of the little girl who died in the Varanasi blast? Why have they to bear the punishment for what was done by selfish and misguided leaders two decades ago. Is there a God out there? I doubt.

Aarti Khosla

Operation confiscation

I have very bad habit of day dreaming. I dream Government of India takes bold step. It confiscates properties of all corrupt IAS Officers, starting from Neera Yadav's house in Scotland, Ravi Inder Singh's haveli etc. Where they getting all this money from ? If not sucking blood of poor people of India. Then ill gotten wealth of spectrum Raja & Commonwealth Kalmadi is confiscated. All sarkari pensions, Member of Parliament pension forfeited. After taking action on just 50 corrupt IAS & politicians Pranab da sending SOS message to Manmohan Singh requesting him to stop Operation confiscation & to resume it next year as treasury of RBI overflowing & no place to keep money in vaults & cannot keep money in open like FCI godown food grains.

Jai Hind

Ritu Sharma

A larger question

Though I thought of not joining the issues with the sympathizers of PJ Thomas but the language of the letter and more importantly for me aspersions made have forced me to reply. It has become the habit of various officers that if any wrongdoing is highlighted then the same is attributed to jealousy to IAS. While my argument was that in IAS itself there are hundreds of honest officers who could have been chosen for the post of CVC. Why did the government find only one particular officer suited for being CVC despite serious allegations is a larger question and needs to be addressed. As for rival political parties choosing an 'x' person to be Chief Secretary is concerned, we all know on what consideration these choices are made these days and example of Neera Yadav is now world famous. If every criticism of bureaucratic functioning is to be labeled as jealousy for IAS then God only would save even the IAS from the current mess. We the credibility of service touching an all time low. Honesty and integrity are traits not reserves of any service but of individuals and unfortunately the system has systematically demolished these traits and many of us are foolishly becoming part of this by invoking 'service loyalties' rather than standing for correct values and norms. I would also support for a fare treatment for Thomas but not his appointment as CVC considering the allegations against him.

MB

Caught at a wrong time

Unfortunately the right person PJ Thomas has been caught at wrong time at wrong place. The country's top pillars parliament, media and even the judiciary are at soup because of the corruption charges against their members. In order to divert the attention from the corruption at media, politics and judiciary, the vested interests are focussing on the hapless Thomas and misguiding the illiterate society largely. Everybody is trying to camouflage their burning issue under the Thomas/CVC issue cleverly. The poor bureaucrat for being bureaucrat looses his several rights, freedom to air his grievances in public etc. He has been made beating bag mercilessly for several days now. I think Thomas must go through this boldly and do counter and also take the shelter under good meaning people. It's high time that courts also must stop going by the media reports and get influenced by populism , but must thoroughly go through the facts placed before it . The entire gamut of issues shows that in democracy anything can happen anytime. Even good people can be punished because of few vested powerful lobbies here and there.

Raghavan

Can Thomas blackmail the government ?

The question is that can Thomas now blackmail the government in declining the sanction for his prosecution? And if he is able to do so will the decision be not vitiated on grounds of extraneous and malafide considerations and therefore liable to challenge by civil society activists? Further question is that whether the officers who prepared the shortlist for consideration by the selection committee and advised the committee are not responsible for causing this enormous embarrassment to Government? If yes what action is proposed against them?

Kapil

Why can't CBI and IB watch former IT officers ?

Aproos Prime Minister for going after the retired Income tax officers. I am personally suffering and victimised by the this gang of Ex IT officers. I have written a personal confidential letter to the Prime Minister and quoted several examples of my friends and me in Mumbai. I ask the Government, why are these officers allowed access in IT offices. Why can't CBI and IB keep a watch on former IT officers. You and your readers will be shocked to know that these IT officers have managed to get scrutiny cases opened from IT officers who have no clue about the past assessments of the citizen. I beg you to keep this pressure on these income tax officers who have almost killed my family. I, my wife and children have developed hypertension and diabetes due to the stress. Bhagwan kare in sab ka nash ho !

R V Chopra

Administrative overhauling is a must

If the country wants to make a leap into the developed nation, administrative overhauling is a must. The postings of officers at crucial decision making position must be based on merit and the selection process should have some say from civil society and academicians. Empanelment process is a fraud perpetuated to serve a very powerful lobby but it has no rational basis. I have seen finance secretary without knowledge of sound financing principles. Least said is better.

Mohan