Whispers Forum

Information about non-crediting of PF Employers share in account slips of 2013-14 etc. in applicant’s account was sought. The CIC held that the RTI request is concerned with ‘life and liberty’ and should have responded by EPFO within 48 hours. The CIC observed that if the phone/mobile or whatsapp, or email id is available, the EPFO shall use them to contact the applicant and to communicate the response. The CIC held that the EPFO is required to incorporate a system according to which the moment RTI application on pension issue is received, there should be a mechanism at the entry stage to discover and identify if it is a pension related grievance and then should start acting immediately. A show was issued to the Regional Provident Fund Commissioner-II, Sub-Regional Office, Ganjam to show-cause why maximum penalty should not be imposed upon him for not providing the information within prescribed timelines. The officer submitted an explanation and informed that a sum of Rs. 1,08,000/- will be credited into the account of the appellant within a week. The CIC found the explanation satisfactory and dropped the Penalty proceedings.
Comments
The view of the CIC that a grievance related to pension (delay in response, delay in fixation and delay in payment) should be treated as ‘right to life’ under Article 21 of the Indian Constitution and the public authorities shall do all the needful to address the issue within 48 hours extends the scope of life and liberty. The CIC has suggested the quick mode of communication while holding that if the phone/mobile / whatsapp, or email id is available, the respondent shall use them to contact the applicant and to communicate the response..
Citation: Manoranjan Patra v. EPFO, Ganjam, Odisha in CIC/BS/A/2016/000523 Decided on: 15.09.2017
Dr. Anuradha Verma (dranuradhaverma@yahoo.co.in) is the co-author of 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 http://www.rtifoundationofindia.com/

Sadly the law and order problem in U.P remains as bad as before notwithstanding the fact that the Chief minister of U.P is working so hard. The chilling report of a woman being gangraped near Muzaffarnagar a few days back in front of her husband who was also beaten badly, then of another girl meeting the same fate but the police not registering her case for three days till she brought the ear of the rapist which she cut during the assault are pointers to this state of affairs. These things are happening not only in the badlands of the state but in a places like Noida and on the signature highways. The other day a neighbour was robbed of her purse right on the DND Flyway while she was driving to Delhi from Noida. Two boys on the motorbike stopped her by hoodwinking her pointing towards her tyre. As she opened the door to see what happened they picked up her purse and drove away. I myself experienced such trauma when on 2nd Oct. I planned to go to the nearby Mall to do some shopping. I did not buy much seeing the crowd there but during the few minutes it took me to exit from the mall and while waiting for the driver of my car outside someone took away my small purse containing all the money by opening the side zip of the big purse hanging on my shoulder. Quite a loss it was. I believe such incidents like purse snatching ,chain snatching are daily occurrence in Noida markets and roads.Many a time criminals leave the attacked ones injured if they resist. It is imperative to let the citizens feel safe. For this the police need to be more proactive.
Aarti Khosla
Cadre review of eight services of Indian Railways pending
It is surprising that cadre review of eight services of Indian Railways is pending with DoPT for years shuttling between DoPT and Railway Ministry for one or the other reasons. Perhaps only GOD may help looking at the way it is being dealt with.
SPU

DEBATE (1) Congress
Congress lost the last election not only due to various scams, corruption but also due to an inefficient and silent PM Man Mohan Singh. Projecting him as PM candidate for Congress in 2019 will be suicidal and will end up in Congress getting much lesser number of seats than they got in 2014 election. People with Congress affinity will prefer Rahul Gandhi much more than Man Mohan Singh. If there is to be a real alternative, Mrs Shiela Dixit will be an appropriate one who would have quite an approval among people.
Ramjays
Answer to Rahul Gandhi
Rashtra Sevika Samiti, the largest Hindu women's organisation working to uphold Indian culture and tradition , celebrated 80 years of its establishment having 2784 branches in 22 countries and 2380 cities, 52 seva sansthan and running 22 hostels.
The Rashtra Sevika Samiti’s goal is to unite everyone and work towards re-establishing our sanskriti . Rashtra Sevika's feeling proud and looks more beautiful wearing saree our traditional dress.
Bhupendra Kumar
Jay Shah’s case is a minniscule
It is indeed amusing to see the plight of the opposition leaders, and the presstitutes, who are scanning all news sources daily to find out how to corner the NDA government, even if for the day, before it is punctured. Thus it is that through some non descript news sources , they have zeroed in on Jay Shah , for corruption. It is sheer shamelessness that having been involved in corruption of lakhs of crores, which are being investigated, they have found solace in Jay shah having a turnover of Rs 15 crore, which is a massive scam!!!! Well people are not fools, and somebody should advise these frustrated leaders, that they would be more credible, if they could introspect and correct themselves. That would at least be reassuring the people.
S Chatterjee
Ill temperate language
The ill temperate language used by S. Chatterjee is highly objectionable and bad in taste. How come the Editor publishes such letter without application of mind. The writing is already written on the wall for the present Govt. The trading community is worst hit and shops are wearing a deserted look just a week before Diwali. Does a country without proper foot bridge at the Railway Stations, clean railway compartments and coaches need a Bullet Train just to please business community of Gujarat? If introduced, the train fare will be much more than the flight ticket. Is it a priority for the Nation when hundreds of poor are dying due to dengue and chicken guinea. People have become wise and are sick of rhetoric and false promises. There is not much representation of highly talented IAS officers from South in the Centre? Why this discrimination? Bureaucrats are literally scared and are not performing their duty to the optimal live. Whispers should change its mind set and feel the pulse of Youth, farmers, small time traders and intellectuals.
Radhikai

Debate (1 ) Congress
True fighting spirit of the party leaders combined together will definitely revive the congress.
Shamita Jain
Debate (2) Congress
Present scenario says Congress will come again as a powerful party, by public votes.
Ayush Seth
Debate (3) Congress
Nowadays, Modi becomes a topic of gossip among people. He has lost his faith to public.
Sahil
Many government officials have little information about RTI Act
There are a large number of government officials who have little information about the provisions of the RTI Act. This results in denial of information in some cases while the third party is made to suffer by providing confidential information related to him in certain cases. Such a chaotic situation would continue till there is a proper training to all the government officials in respect of RTI matters.
Shambhu Nath Singh

DEBATE (1) Congress
I once again stress as said earlier, if Congress wants to win next elections, must project Dr Man Mohan Singh as next Prime Ministerial candidate. Also must come with a vision document for poor Indians especially farmers, jawans, poor and downtrodden.
Harish Kumar
DEBATE (2)Congress
Congress can easily revive because the experience counts of 49 years heading the central government. It is a very tough challenge for BJP to beat congress after having so many failures.
Devesh Barai
DEBATE (3) Congress
people still have a faith in congress, something they will do in the public interest other than inflicting unplanned schemes on people like GST.
Atul Sharma
DEBATE (4) Congress
BJP is simply a Gujarat Centralised Govt. Modi wants his fellows to appear in all streams, that will be not acceptable by public. Congress atleast need a chance to clean all these conspiracies.
Ali Farooqui
DEBATE (5) Congress
Congress need to work on ground level, connect to people and should know their problems. What actually public want from the government. Then also they have to make a strong team to stand out in polling booth.
Alina Chaudhary
If not NDA, who else ?
The few people who are against government, for whatever reasons have taken to criticising the government, without proper understanding of issues, and parroting what congis and leftists are saying, ably backed by the presstitutes. If even for arguments sake, we presume that the NDA government is not doing well, what is the alternative ? Do we want a buffoon as pm or a so called great intellectual, who ably ruined this country or any of the regional leaders who apart from appeasement policy, are thoroughly corrupt . Is there any alternate leader who can lead this country better? This govt has earned the respect of all world leaders, foreign govt and world bank etc are praising Mr. Modi, perhaps they are all fools, and only the corrupt and communal elements in this country ,including presstitutes are the know all. Today their role has been reduced to shouting on TV channels, drowning out others, and believe the ordinary people are fools to support them. Well good luck to them. The NDA should however realise that people voted them for action against corrupt and appeasement free governance. The NDA would do well to expedite all criminal cases launched and prosecute all the corrupt in a time bound manner, including those who laundered money during demonetisation and get them exemplary punishment,which will restore the peoples faith in government.
S Chhatterjee

Revival of opposition is automatic in view of the commitment of the NDA Govt only to mutiple taxes and a corrupt taxation department .
ARC Kumar
DEBATE (2) Congress
Surprised that there are people who are seeing hope of any revival of congress. Haven't they had enough scams already. The party is full of sycophants & jokers. No comparison with honest & hardworking Modi. Like it or not, he is going to be around for a very long time.
Arun Sharma
Cheats On The Prowl
“Start Your Own Business…” reads one big ad in big newspapers. Enough inducement for Modi’s Start Ups/ Stand Ups/ Entrepreneurs, who are eligible for loans under MUDRA, various Finance & Development Corp (Women, Minority, SC, ST, Handicapped a.k.a. Divyaangjan & Safai Karamchari) and other schemes up to Rs. 10 lakhs. Without reading the fine print and ignorant of the large scale cheating going on in the name of ‘Franchisee Opportunities For Reputed Brands”, the youth walk into the trap innocently. Not realizing the legal connotations and implications of the term “investment” or ROI (In 3 Years), s/he invests the money borrowed for the business development or personal capital hoping to get the assured ROI by way of doubling of the investment in three years. The ad carries further guaranty on legal document assuring that the investment is secure. Can the investor get back her/his money if s/he wants to terminate the contract? It only says in smaller print that if you want your investment back any time within a year, it will be returned to you (T&C apply). It means it is not meant to be returned before 3 years and if insisted, it would be subject to terms and conditions. These T&C are not known and always subject to change without prior notice just like the change of their address. What is hidden is the processing/administrative expenses/front charges of no less than 10% of the “investment”. Crores are looted from the startup ventures of the youth in this manner and nothing can be done to them. The Ad ends with a mobile phone number. Their location can be traced if they publish their landline number. The fraud and cheating that has been going on in the name of Franchising needs to be checked urgently. The money taken from the young entrepreneur/start up/MSME unit is lost as it is never returned. Once paid, the ownership of the collecting company goes on changing so that they can’t be traced. It is a con NBFI kind of operation where money is collected without any interest (it is termed “investment”). In fact, you can lose your investment if the business of the company/firm/unit you invested fails or declared bankrupt. These cheats are aggressively advertising on commercial TV channels too. The M/o Commerce & Industry, MSME, SFIO, Corporate Affairs, Law & Justice and NITI Ayog etc. all are obligated to stop this open cheating. They need to read only the several cases against some of these people, the latest one in which a company with a big brand name has been declared PO (Proclaimed Offender) by a Chandigarh court as reported by The Tribune of 19th Sept 2017, should stir them to prompt action.
M L Gupta
IAS scuttle promotion in CSS!
On account of the designs of IAS, there has been no promotion in CSS for the last one year at US, DS and Director level. The politicians are also giving a blind eye to the problem. The ruling party is also not realizing that these type of development/amongst government servants leads to their becoming unpopular. The government servants spread a lot about the functioning of the government in market. They should realize that they are being taken for a ride by the feudalistic mentality people . Not all but a majority of them are.
BBS

DEBATE (1) Congress
I am a regular reader of your article 'Whispersinthecorridors'. I can forget my breakfast but not your article. Regarding revival of Congress Party, my frank and bold opinion is given as under, as desired:
In my opinion, there are a few very senior and experienced Politicians in Congress Party who have been ignored in the past. They deserve the higher responsibilities and have the capabilities as President or Vice President of Congress Party and can lead and revive the Party a grand success but the Gandhi family must quit for a couple of years.
Rahul Gandhi may be ready to accept the challenge of responsibilities as President of Congress Party but same problem of Gandhi Family - lacking an immediate requirement of a rival candidate. It is widely felt and whispered among public that the Congress Politicians want an alternative choice but the question is that by doing so who is going to suicide himself in Congress Party - Nobody.
Party High Command of Congress must sit and discuss and forget their egos to revive their future and for the welfare of our great Nation.
H.R.Ahuja
DEBATE (2) Congress
Only PM Narendra Modi will revive the Congress Party
Dr Shanta
DEBATE (3) Congress
Very difficult question.
P K Gupta
Deport Rohingyas immediately
There appears to be no concern about immediate deportation of Rohingya illegal migrants from Mynmar. One has to just read the historical background of their militant activities as reported in the media, by Brahma Chellaney, to gauge the threat they pose to the country. The more the Government of India delays in this respect, the more difficult it would be to oust them. Why wait for the Supreme Court decision ? There is no legal point involved in that. The security of the country should be paramount and the fact of the matter is that by taking no action on this, we are compromising with that.
Aarti Khos;la
Post proper police officers
Proper police officers, who can take action against criminals and take complaint of local people seriously, must be posted in police stations and zones. They must use ‘mukhbars’ for removing criminals and not for some others matter.
Ghaus Mohd

Appellant stated that he wanted to know the reasons behind the blast that occurred in INS Sindurakshak (S 63) Submarine as he inferred from media reports that the cause for the blast was attributed to some human error. The PIO submitted that the information was denied under Section 8(1)(a) and 8(1)(j) of the RTI Act. Upon Commission’s instance, the PIO elaborated that the Board of Inquiry is a vast elaboration of the events which runs into almost 16 Volumes and entails description of the specifications of the Submarine; details of its deployment, where it was headed, why it was deployed and will even have sensitive details like missile fitting specifications. Disclosure of these details will be prejudicial to national security as similar class of submarines exist in present day which are used for deployment and if specifications are revealed, it will not be conducive to the strategic interest of the State. In the interim decision on 30.08.2017, the CIC directed the PIO to appear in person before the bench alongwith relevant files for the in-camera hearing. The PIO produced 16 volumes of relevant Board of Inquiry (BOI) report before the CIC. After perusing the relevant extract pertaining to findings of the Inquiry leading to mishap in INS Sindhurakshak , the CIC directed the PIO to provide to the Appellant, the extract of para 85(a) of page 46 of Volume XIII of 4 BOI, after suitably blacking out technical details.
Comments
Section 18 of the RTI Act grants the power to the CIC to requisition any public record or copies thereof from any court or office. In case of documents which are of confidential nature, the Commission has asked for the files to inspect such documents in terms of the suitability of disclosure.
Citation: Rahul Sehrawat v. Integrated HQ MoD(Navy) in File No. CIC/DODEF/A/2017/110171/SD, Date of Final Decision:06/10/2017
Dr. Anuradha Verma (dranuradhaverma@yahoo.co.in) is the co-author of 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 http://www.rtifoundationofindia.com/

DEBATE (1) Congress
Yes, it is not the new face which is required for reviving but it needs proper planning and proper advisor. The Congress has to be tight-lipped in telling public the wrongs committed by other parties. Congress needs to disclose as to what had been done during its reign. People facing the music of ruling party need not to tell more. The wearer of shoe knows where shoe pinches. Congress leaders need to forgive childish habits of joking criticizing opposition. Nobody has time to hear such things which one is facing daily. Public needs something new. Politeness and proper planning will lead to success. I can assist the High command as wise advisor if needs.
Harsh Mehta
DEBATE (2) Congress
Unity among Congress leaders will turn the tables in the next elections. The Congress itself has bright chances in the next Lok Sabha polls as there is palpable swing in the mood of the public in favour of the party. Ups and downs in a party’s fortunes are a part of democratic polity and, while the Congress had been on a downswing for some time, I personally see strong signs of its revival provided leadership takes the challenge with full force.
Manoj Vajpayee
DEBATE (1) Congress
Strong leadership is required for revival of Congress. Leaders connected to grass-root like Digvijay Singh in Madhya Pradesh, if given a chance, can do wonders. Things are not good in the country at the moment… the effects of GST, of demonetization etc. etc. Voters have now understood that BJP leaders can only talk but they have nothing to deliver. No vision except one point agenda to create Hindu-Mulim rift and make attempts to finish Nehru-Gandhi legacy. Now people have come to know their game plan. Look at the recent elections – the student union elections in Rajasthan, Delhi or the Punjab University. It is all indicative of how things are changing. I think Congress has a real good chance everywhere. By the 2019 general election, certainly, the Congress is very much in the run.
Irfan Ali
Vacancies of Under Secretaries a serious issue
Vacancies of 200 Under Secretaries from the Central Secretariat Service (CSS) in Government of India are a serious issue. How can Government of India meet its objective “Minimum Government, Maximum Governance” in the absence of officers? Govt should first fill the vacancies by promoting the officers to get desired results.
Sunil Kumar

DEBATE (1) Congress
Only Rahul Gandhi can revive the Congress because it is only he who can pose a credible challenge to Narendra Modi in the 2019 election ? Not only is he capable of leading the Congress but he is the best choice of the opposition to take the lead in the 2019 election. He has proved himself time and again as a man of stature and an astute politician. BJP gang may continue to project him as ‘Pappu’ but who cares now ? Youth will not be befooled again. His performance at (University of California,) Berkeley was par excellence. What has Modi done for us except creating panic in our lives ?
Sanjeev Goswami
DEBATE (2) Congress
AICC General Secretary Digivijay Singh is the most ideal mass leader who can revive the Congress party at this juncture.
Ashok Singh
DEBATE (3) Congress
Loss of confidence in the ruling leadership could automatically lead people in favour of the Congress party. The leaders just need to make sure they don’t promise anything they can’t deliver during the next Lok Sabha polls campaigning.
Devinder Kumar Saxena
DEBATE (4) Congress
Congress party needs a mass leader like Digvijay Singh who needs to travel across the country and start preparing for the next Lok Sabha polls immediately.
Bhushan Chouhan

DEBATE (1) Congress
Can congress revive itself ? Yes , why not. If BJP with only 2 seats in1984 get to 282 in 2014, Congress too can do it. The process is long and requires total transformation in the mindset of Congress.
Minimum period is two to three years. Following steps need to be taken.......
(1) A charismatic anddynamic new leader for the party is must.
Ofcourse Mahatma Gandhi is impossibility to find again yet some one approximate to him should guide the course of the party. Truth ,simplicity. Sheer doggedness and fixity of purpose, honesty, and farsightedness should be the guiding Mantra of every step congress takes for revival.
(2) The Micro and Macro management of the party, atleast 50 lacs of hardened cadre of workers imbued with un flinching patriotism, a revolutionary manifesto for the youth of the country, no appease ment of any cast or religion or section of society and missionary zeal for have nots and power to impoverished sections of people have to be ruling Mantras for the new Congress.
(3) Lastly the present Leadership of Congress must admit acts of commissions and omissions in last governance and seek pardon of Janta and give solemn pledge never to commit those follies again. The culture of flattery in the party must end and boldness and courage should be reinforced. All this is easily said than done but the party men have to realise that path to CROWN is not a bed of Roses but of thorns and horney bushes to be negotiated skilfully.
S.M.Shukla.
( Retired 1 st DGP and 1 st Chairman of state of Chhattisgarh.)
DEBATE (2) Congress
The biggest advantage with Congress party is that seniority is hugely respected which means that experience is available in plenty for young leaders to gain for reviving the party’s prospects in the next Lok Sabha polls.
Mohan Mehta
Rajnitika aur Rajnaitik?
Criticism is always welcome. It benefits the target immensely at zero cost. It helps the wise improve. It exposes the enemy within the group sending timely alert to the leader. It renders the rival an object of public ridicule. Honest criticism carries a lot of weight. Bereft of honesty(Rajnaitik), it turns into vilification or maligning (Ninda in Hindi). Both Ninda and stuti are abominable, for they do no public good. The persons indulging in vilification or flattery invite public derision in equal measure. The bane of Indian politics is rajniti. There is no limit to base attacks and foul language. The political leaders making fun of the rich want creation of jobs in millions at the same time. Can the poor create jobs? Our Socialists, middle path waders and leftist contributed to the maximum to slow GDP and creation of jobs. Their wisdom is exemplified by Mamata Banerjee throwing out the Tata’s Nano Car project and her predecessors destroying the number one industrial state of India. One can laugh away the Congress leader making fun of suitboot ki Sarkar as it does not suit them to take orders from an Indian coming from a humble working-class background. However, it becomes a comedy of errors when someone from the BJP shares his angst. The critic has resorted to sharp language reserved only for the enemy for issues which could have helped the government improve. He had done so to fail the Modi victory in 2014. It also carries an open threat of losing the 2019 election. That is the reward Narendra Modi gets from his party leaders, whose frustration has been used by the Congress and the Communists, Mamata and others to justify their misplaced criticism. Demonetisation hurt the BJP supporters to some extent as it hurt the Congress and others to the maximum. Even today, it enjoys the highest public appreciation. People want Modi to display greater harshness towards the black economy, which is raising its hydra head once again. There is no decline in GDP. Have manufacturing industries closed down? No. But non-manufacturing sectors have suffered a temporary setback because the black money is not supporting them, e.g. real estate operations, mining, private hospitals, high cost lawyers & doctors’ private practice, ministers & bureaucrats not earning bribes and not investing in benami properties and many such activities. If Modi does not get distracted by ill-founded criticism and remains positive, he can obtain much better GDP. Election 2019 is going to be fought fiercely, with BJP fellows acting like the Congress leaders did during their journey from Nehru to Shashtri to Indira to Rajiv to MM Singh. BJP’s journey by comparison is limited to ABV to Narendra Modi only. The PM will need a lot of patience as developmental results can’t be produced in a short span of 5 years. If someone is selling him Sheikhchilli’s dreams, he should overcome the illusion. The people of India will give him a second term happily, irrespective of the Ravan ridiculing Hanuman by asking his sepoys to wrap his tail with cloth, dip it in oil and ignite it because the monkey loves its tail the most. Ravan ki mooncch aur Hanuman ki punch. Jan Sevak Hanuman, proceeded to destroy Ravan’s Lanka and secured safe release of Sita, the poor masses of India, kept in captivity in the luxurious Askok Vatika by the black economy for 70 years now. Remember: Seva Dharma is the most difficult of all dharmas.
M L Gupta

DEBATE (2) Congress
The Congress party is on a revival stage automatically as the State-level leaders and workers have themselves worked out what went wrong in the past Assembly and Lok Sabha polls.
B K Sinha
DEBATE (3) Congress
AICC Vice President Rahul Gandhi is a far more matured leader today to lead the party compared to the last Lok Sabha polls. And this time he has the advantage of people taking him seriously when he talks.
Bharat Prabhakar
BJP cleverly projecting RaGa as principal opponent
Factors against NaMo on socio, economic, bilateral and multi lateral front is many but single factor RaGa can nullify all these negative factors and that is why BJP is cleverly projecting RaGa into the principal opponent slot against NaMo despite knowing well that only leader consistently opposing both BJP and Cong is Arvind Kejriwal and AAP.
Ettirankandath Krishnadas