Whispers Forum

Pakistan is hugely affected by the floods aggravating present levels of poverty, hunger and inflation. The Islamic countries, even China, are not coming forward for help. Lip sympathy does not help. India could help Pakistan in these circumstances during the floods and political instability. But, there has to be a request for it. Trade relations were unilaterally suspended by Pakistan, not India. It is high time, Pakistan starts behaving with India and stop cross-border terrorism. Continuance of hostility between the two sub-continental neighbours, will worsen the situation. People of Pakistan are ready for friendship with India. But the army-controlled establishment looks the other way. A referendum in Pakistan will prove this. Pakistani awaam considers itself culturally, historically and linguistically close to India. They welcome free trade relations and visa-free movement of its citizens. But, Pakistan has to move away from hatred to cooperation. Resumption of trade relations will be immensely useful in the normalisation process. Pakistan must amend its Constitution to treat its minorities at par with the majority. Its non-Muslim citizens should be able to occupy key positions. Change from theocracy to secularism is the prerequisite. Why can't a Hindu or Christian be appointed as its President? Why should non-Muslims be called "Kaafirs"? This is irrational and anti- democratic. Pak has been terribly ditched by China due to its single point agenda based on hate-India approach. Pak has to forget China in the face of a fast changing international scenario. This is not wishful thinking. But, all things considered, good-neighbour relations are not possible without democracy taking deep roots in Pakistan, free from military intervention. A Jai Prakash Narayan type anti-corruption movement is missing in Pakistan. This is considered necessary for creating mass awareness and changing its collective attitude towards India.
A K Saxena (A former civil servant)

I agree with the views expressed on PFI and whom to blame for this fiasco. Of course this raises many questions too. 1. What were multi-layer so many intelligence agencies doing since 1996. 2. If there are financial dealings of heavy value both with India and from abroad, what was DRI and other financial watch agencies including RBI, banks & Ministry of finance doing, were they in sleep mode, all banks are required to inform MOF & RBI of any fishy or heavy transactions. 3. What were governments doing from 1996 to 2022, were they blind to this serious issue. All the political parties who governed are solely responsible for this & must own responsibility including the present one. But I am positive our system is poor in governance that it dilutes everything by delay & finally the judiciary fails as they can't find evidence which is erased through dilution & delay tactics. As always the story will be dead finally into a grave.
Harish Kumar

Appellant had a personal grievance regarding schemes offered by Tata Sky DTH Services. He sought information about the schemes offered by Tata Sky DTH Services to its retail customers and the regulatory actions which can be taken by TRAI against service providers where they do not give the credit of the schemes offered by them to the eligible customers. The Commission observed that the TRAI is the controlling authority and therefore, whatever information was accessible u/s Sec 2(j) of the RTI Act by them was given. Further, the applicant’s plea that updated information should be given is considered in the interest of justice as the PIO also had admitted that the hyperlink given may not be working due to change of website domain etc. The CIC ruled that no action is taken on the complaint as no malafide intent could be found on the part of the PIO. However, in terms of the second appeal, the PIO was directed to make an effort to obtain the information from the service provider and the inputs received be forwarded to the appellant within 7 days from the date of receipt of the order.
Comments
The case law shows how the regulatory authority can be used to obtain information from a private service provided who is otherwise not covered under the definition of public authority.
Citation: Akshay Kumar Malhotra v. Telecom Regulatory Authority of India in CIC/TRAOI/A/2021/147091+ CIC/TRAOI/C/2021/145847, Date of Decision: 19/09/2022
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. Apart from her weekly article here, her other articles can be read at the website of RTI Foundation of India at the link: www.rtifoundationofindia.com

The news that the Government is likely to review British influence on the culture, traditions and practices in the armed forces seems to have upset both veterans and serving officers. These traditions and practices were established a couple of centuries ago by the British as per the prevailing context. To claim these will not be changed 75 years after we attained Independence is not a tenable argument. The context has changed considerably and the armed forces will do well to change with the times. My appeal to Servicemen is “to change before you have to. Control your destiny. Otherwise someone will control it." See what happened to Railways and Ordnance factories. Failure to change with times resulted in change being thrust on them. So instead of wailing, seize the initiative, review the continued relevance, suitability and effectiveness of all your practices and introduce changes that are in tune with the ethos of an independent nation, its culture and traditions. Rest assured that if you don't act on your own change will be thrust on you.
Raghavan
Why postings of CITs without consideration of vacancies
Why is the CBDT rushing to post CITs without considering the 57 vacancies created by the recent promotion to the Pr CITs when they have already asked for their posting choices?
Ramesh

Extensions to the officers are bad in policy. Extension creates vested interests.
B K Saha, former Chief Secretary MP
Chief Minister of Rajasthan
Media reports say that Ms. Sonia Gandhi will shortly decide whether Rajasthan will have a new Chief Minister and if so she will nominate the person for this post. It is the constitutional right of the citizens of Rajasthan to choose their Chief Minister through their elected representatives. Is Ms. Gandhi a queen or viceroy or governor general to chief minister of an Indian State? One hopes that MLAs of Rajasthan will show gumption and show the lady where she belongs. How can one allow in independent India an extra-constitutional person, to designate a person as Chief Minister of an Indian state. One hopes that congress MLAs in Rajasthan act to put a stop to this utterly unconstitutional act once and for all.
Raghavan