Whispers Forum

Information regarding the list of pensioners, who are receiving pension from Andaman and Nicobar Islands administration under jurisdiction of Pay and Accounts Office Code 071383, issued by CGHS card in CGHS covered cities across India as also the list along with their details such as names, designation, CGHS card number, date of issue, etc. was sought . The Respondent expressed his inability to address the issues raised by the Appellant and stated that since issuance of CGHS cards was decentralized, no specific data was available with them. The CIC noted that the DoPT constituted a Task Force for the effective implementation of Section 4 of the RTI Act. The CIC expressed serious concern about the state of recordkeeping within the CGHS and directed the Director, CGHS to depute a team of officials to enquire into the entire matter and provide information to the Appellant. The CIC directed that a comprehensive and robust policy for digitization of its records to be evolved and implemented within a time bound manner for the ease and convenience of all concerned.
Comments
The implementation of section 4 of the RTI Act remains a dream which is yet to be realised in most of the government departments. The Department of Personnel and Training of the Government of India had constituted a Task Force for the effective implementation of Section 4 of the RTI Act. As a part of this Task Force, a sub group on ‘Guidelines for Digital Publication under RTI supporting Proactive Disclosure of Information’ held a one day consultation on ‘Formulating guidelines for digital publication under RTI supporting proactive disclosure of information’. Hopefully, the departments should start implementing the same in the right earnest.
Dr. Anuradha Verma (dranuradhaverma@yahoo.co.in) is an expert on RTI matters and has co-authored the books RIGHT TO INFORMATION - LAW AND PRACTICE and PIO’s guide to RTI. Her other articles can be read at the website of RTI Foundation of India at the link: http://www.rtifoundationofindia.com/

It was a tight slap to India by China after last month's bloody suicide-bombing in Pulwama by Pakistan, its dirty ally. The global terrorist Azhar Masood continues to have a free run in Pakistan.
The Security Council is ineffective in thwarting China's nefarious designs and in enforcing UN sanctions. Manifestation of dragon’s expansionist policy. The US, USSR, UK, France and other like-minded nations must jointly cripple China economically by boycotting all Chinese goods.
India, on its own, is incapable of taking on China. Thanks to its candyfloss foreign policy.
Desh-bhakt indians feeling humiliated, demoralised, outraged. Let the Desh-drohi Nehru-Gandhi-Vadra dynasty and their cheerleaders remain ecstatic at our dis-comfiture.
China remains India’s enemy no 1, not the impoverished Pakistan. Hindi-Cheeni bhai-bhai slogan,coined by Pt Nehru emboldened China to annex Tibet followed by unauthorizedly occupying of one lakh sq miles of Indian territory (Aksai Chin) from India during 1962 debacle. Nehru’s magnanimity in relinquishing permanent membership of UNSC in favour of China, made India the object of international derision.
PM Modi must rise to the occasion, forget vote-bank politics and focus on national security. Representing 130 crores indians,he must deal with China on one-on-one basis by rapidly building its own economic and military prowess.
The Tibetan and Uyeghar populations of China are ready to join the movements by the persecuted Baluchis, Sindhis and Pakhtoons of Pakistan for independence.
The lobbies supporting recognition of nationalist China must wake up.China must have the taste of terrorism. Now, the belligerent Pakistan’s latest wish is to name “ Kartarpur Sahib “ as “ Capital of Khalistan” and the station as “ Kartarpur Railway station “.
How willingly we fell prey to Imran’s googly.No time for de-escalation of tension by India. We must escalate before the situation goes out of spin. Attack, Mr Prime minister. Don't talk of peace
A K Saxena ( A former civil servant)

So China has once again blocked the proposal to ban Masood Azhar and his outfit in the UN Security Council. This is the fourth time it has done this. Obviously at the request of its all-time friend Pakistan which China relies upon for expanding its economic power as well as its hegemony across the globe. This also exposes Imran Khan's duplicity in suggesting dialogue and maintaining peace between the two neighbours. Or may be he is helpless before his rogue army who want to continue with their proxy war with India. They are surviving on Indo-Pak Conflict and do not want to become less powerful .So the first task for Imran Khan is to convince his military of his so-called peace initiatives.
Aarti Khosla

With Rahul Gandhi formally asking his party cadre to win all the seven Lok Sabha seats in the national capital, a triangular fight between the Congress, the BJP and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is confirmed giving a clear upper hand to the lotus. This is not the story in Delhi alone. Several other states are also on similar lines. So what happens to the 'Mahagatbandhan' - a grand plan to defeat the BJP ? In Delhi at least, it has fallen. Given the fact that Modi is the front-runner but faces an anti-incumbency factor in which the BJP may not get a clear majority on its own in the Lok Sabha like it did last time, every seat counts for those who want to unseat him. For now, with seven seats tilting towards the BJP, the grand alliance of the opposition has gotten off to a not-so-grand start.
S Sharma

Army Officers want to do sycophancy and are bound to loose elections.
Col V K GUPTA
Janeudhari or Non-Janeudhari
The voters of India have to discharge their constitutional obligation to the Republic in the Election 2019. This time the contest is no more between dhoti versus pant, Sari versus Skirt, barrel of the gun versus hammer & sickle, blood red topi versus spotless white topi, green versus blue or any such symbolism as it is no more a battle of political ideologies. Politics for most new entrants to the industry is merely a profitable business which brings windfall gains at extremely low investment. The political entrepreneur is never a loser; only the voter feels cheated because s/he shows undue indifference towards her/his constitutional obligation of making an informed choice of the right candidate/ party. Will it be reduced to nothing more than a choice between a Janeudhari or Non-Janeudhari ?
M L Gupta

The Appellant sought copy of Roster of posting/transfer of civilian employees Mech. Infantry Regiment (MIR), which was denied under section 8(1)(j). In the submission to the CIC, Lt. Col. JS Brar, PIO went into the history of the service conduct of the Appellant to persecute his alleged habit of filing RTI Applications. The PIO stated that since the mother of the Appellant has expired, the reason for which he applied for compassionate posting has become null and void. The CIC observed that this by implication suggests that the PIO perhaps intends to apprise the bench that the information sought in the RTI Application is of no use to the Appellant now. The CIC severely warned the PIO to exercise due caution in future in matters of RTI Act. Further, the CIC ruled that as the denial of information under Section 8(1)(j) was completely inappropriate, the PIO was directed to provide specific and available information as sought in the RTI Application to the Appellant free of cost.
Comments
Under the RTI Act, an applicant is not required to provide any reasons for seeking information, nor is the applicant expected to have a pristine service record to be eligible to access information. The Act bestows a statutory right which can be exercised by any citizen irrespective of his reasons or the fact that he is a government servant or not. The PIO is only required to justify the denial of information under Section 8(1)(j) of RTI Act, without making any submissions relevant to RTI Act.
Citation: R V Wagh v. CPIO, The Mech Infantry Regiment in File No: CIC/IARMY/A/2018/101803/SD, Date of Decision: 06.02.2019
Dr. Anuradha Verma (dranuradhaverma@yahoo.co.in) is an expert on RTI matters and has co-authored the books RIGHT TO INFORMATION - LAW AND PRACTICE and PIO’s guide to RTI. Her other articles can be read at the website of RTI Foundation of India at the link: http://www.rtifoundationofindia.com/

Everyone in our country is suffering from credibility crisis due to the lies they spread. Who is right who is wrong no one can make out as every one seems to be lying right from the senior functionaries of Government or the so called leaders of opposition. As for media, less said the better. Each one specially the TV channels are aligned one way or the other, specially one way with the one who holds the power or out of fear. They compete with each other for shrillness and their brand of nationalism. Instead of giving news they manufacture news. Whom to believe is a great predicament before the viewers. If one has to keep one's sanity intact one should stop seeing TV and not listen to our floating leaders who are bound to spread more lies and hurl abuses at each other once the election campaign builds up after the announcement of dates. Time to get lost in some wild solitude place -away from this all.
Aarti Khosla
Is Modi the best choice ?
I personally feel Modi is the only and best choice for PM. His integrity is beyond doubt and this feature is not visible in the other candidates.
Kap

It is time for Pakistan to take stock of the past 71 years since it came into existence.
It has simply wasted valuable assets in pursuing its misconceived hate agenda against India.
Had it also embarked on a development agenda, as did India, it would have been a different Pakistan.
What is it today?
It has become the world’s terrorist factory.
It has specialized in producing and exporting terrorists to the world.
It has been isolated to such an extent that even the OIC has not given it any importance.
It has also become a victim of its own hate mongering- what with the terrorists/non-state groups dictating policy and programme to it.
Does it make any sense to employ the army to protect these internationally branded terrorists?
How is a Hafiz or Ladin more valuable than the people of Pakistan and their well-being?
The beneficiaries of this unholy policy and programme have been the Pakistan Army officers, who have amassed too much of illegal wealth and other assets, which they have kept in banks in countries outside Pakistan, that they will never allow democracy to take roots in Pakistan in an orderly fashion.
The Pakistan Army has deliberately kept the masses tied down to the past that most Muslim countries have trashed.
It would be wrong to believe that the Burqua is a sign of poverty and backwardness only.
It is no more so- it covers learned, intelligent, smart, modern, scientific, political, diplomatic, artistic and digitally literate faces too.
While women in other Muslim countries have made tremendous progress, the Pak run hate mission has deprived its women of such benefits. It has derived immense pleasure so long as the efforts to inflict a1000 cuts continues by its army trained and led terrorists by suicide attacks in the world and, especially India.
Its misadventure in Pulwama, though, proved rather costlier than it had calculated or invested for.
It was confronted with an opportunity to update itself, at least for its own survival.
Such a survival depends on democracy and not army rule.
Pakistan people have seen it in the last 71 years.
If they don’t act now, the army will destroy Pakistan forever. Its misadventures in East Pakistan are well known. Its activities in other parts of Pakistan like Balochistan are similar to what it had done in former East Pakistan.
Compare the progress made by Bangladesh in the last 48 years with the decline of Pakistan acquiring the reputation of the World’s Terrorist Factory.
Pakistan must close all its terrorism sleeper cells in India.
Those Trade Marked Secularist Indians who encourage Pakistan to keep bleeding India or remove Narendra Modi or any other duly elected government deserve to be snubbed. They are suspected to be more interested in trouble in India before the forthcoming Lok Sabha elections next month. They are frustrated to such an extent that they have started rambling, may be because the terrorists struck at Pulwama instead of the designated spot to achieve political gains over Prime Minister Narendra Modi whom they wanted Pakistan to remove!
Their trade in communal politics has been ruined by the developments post-Pulwama.
Since these elements also suffer from myopia, they think the Indian Muslim women, clad in Burqua, are uneducated, backward and deserve their mercy. I suggest they hold a TV discussion with half a dozen Burqua-clad women on any subject and I guarantee they would be exposed to such an extent that they would run away in no time.
They are as unhappy as the ISI of Pakistan (on whose doles and support they survive) after the incidents since Pulwama.
But Pakistan has got the opportunity to make amends and change course in the direction of democracy, development, progress and prosperity of the people of Pakistan.
Welcome The Present, Pakistan: Abhinandan Varthaman!
It had arrived before you. For peace and prosperity for the people in Pakistan, you don’t need UN Resolutions or approval of any big country. You alone can do it.
You and India together can achieve progress in half the number of years wasted so far by you, which will put us all in the developed nations category.
Choice is yours; Terrorism or Peaceful development?
M L Gupta

The Complainant sought a copy of order issued for recovery of amount of HRA and LTC alleged to have been drawn illegally by certain individuals in Directorate of Sugar and Vegetable oil. The PIO submitted that appropriate reply was sent to the Complainant which was returned undelivered citing reason of non-availability of any such person. The CIC upheld the reply of the PIO and observed that the Complainant could perhaps be a fictitious person as both - the CPIO reply as well as Commission’s notice of hearing - has come back undelivered with similar remarks. The CIC dismissed the complaint.
Comments
A PIO must send the reply by speed post or registered post and retain the evidence of the reply sent to the RTI applicant which would be handy if a charge of not providing the information is made.
Citation: Lakhinder Singh v. CPIO, Directorate of Sugar and Vegetable Oil, Department of Food and Public Distribution in File No: CIC/DOFPD/C/2017/194444/SD, Date of Decision: 07/01/2019
Dr. Anuradha Verma (dranuradhaverma@yahoo.co.in) is an expert on RTI matters and has co-authored the books RIGHT TO INFORMATION - LAW AND PRACTICE and PIO’s guide to RTI. Her other articles can be read at the website of RTI Foundation of India at the link: http://www.rtifoundationofindia.com/