Whispers Forum

DEBATE (1) Corruption
Modi alone can’t do it
The fight against corruption is not an individual driven fight but more of a systems driven fight. No Modi, Gandhi, Nehru- no individual can eliminate corruption single handedly. The world has seen many such evangelists earlier. These guys have not only failed but also created some stupid systems which ultimately created more corruption. Modi can only bring in tough laws and influence people to abide by them by his personal charm.
Sudhir Saxena
DEBATE (2) Corruption
Not a single man’s task
It is foolish to believe that any one person can eliminate corruption, let alone Modi.
Rajesh Shrivastava
RTI useless if records destroyed
Records. If a Public Information Officer responds to an applicant w.r.t to an RTI application that the records/files have been destroyed based on the Record Retention Schedule, then nothing can happen.
Anurag Srivastava

DEBATE (1) Corruption slogan
Corruption is a dirty word but it is a vote catcher. Every political party promises to eliminate corruption if it is voted to power and it will give a clean administration/government. But how do the parties garner votes They need money and tons of money to contest elections in a big democracy like India. Everyone knows votes are not won on the strength of a party's mission or objectives, but on the promises it makes to the voters and the bribes it offers in various questionable practices like distributing liquor, sarees, bicycles or even wads of currency notes and sometimes by using pressure tactics for which they need muscle men who have to be paid handsomely. Parties collect money not from the poor but from the business community and more from the big companies who pay them huge sums of money which are not declared by any party nor any account is rendered. As long as there is no state funding of the elections, corruption will remain. Even after winning elections whether the party is in power or in opposition, it needs money for its various agenda items, like taking out rallies on some pretext or the other and for arranging public shows of welcome when big leaders visit any city or town. Even inside the Parliament or in the Assemblies, sometimes prties have to buy the support of some parties in the opposition in order to get certain bills or resolutions passed.
Even petty hawkers, vendors, vegetable sellers, fruit sellers are known to be short-weighing their stuff and over charging the gullible buyers, on some pretext or the other. Is it not corruption. The weighing scales are not callibratd so that the cheating goes on and on. Traders do not issue cash memos in order to avoid paying taxes. Double set of accounts is a common practice in the business world. The officers and staff of the various govt. departments who are responsible for enforcement of laws, and rules/regulations are known to be having their weekly bribes or daily collection from haat-baazars. Big business houses regularly bribe the tax collectors to keep them on their right side.
Corruption has taken very deep roots and most citizens are prepared to pay the bribe to get the work done fast or to save themselves when they break rules. It is impossible to eliminate corruption from any society. Advanced world economies and even communist countries are suffering from the bane of corruption. Someone said, " Corruption is the oil which keeps the wheels of government moving."
S C Agrawal
D G Police (Retd.)
DEBATE (2) Corruption
Atleast PM Modi has called for eradication of corruption.He has a will and let’s see what is in the store.
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V K Panigrahi
VIP culture can be controlled ?
VIP culture can be controlled only if the Bureaucracy particularly IAS officers and Police officials join hands together and refuse to succumb to Politicians pressures.
S Gopal
Applying 360 degree for empanelment is unfair
The Parliamentary Standing Committee for Personnel and Public grievances have rightly pointed out that applying 360 degree for empanelment of officers for joint secretary level is unfair and can be challenged legally since it is not backed by any statue and is purely on the basis of executive instructions.Moreover the system is opaque and lacks objectivity.How can you expect a junior to give a fair assessment about the officer if at some point of time he/she has been reprimanded or disciplined by the senior.Similiarly a senior cannot give fair and objective assessment if the officer assessed is not the one adept at psycophancy.To keep the names of the persons from whom opinion is sought secret from the officer who is under consideration for empannelment is absolutely wrong.This is no administrative reform.No wonder since the application of this doctrine many well deserving officers have missed the bus and those not so good are being put on the panel.I do not know which wise man advised for this 360 degree -an idea introduced first in Germany during World War II for military and given up and later introduced in America too and discarded for the same reason of absence of objectivity.This needs to be dropped by GOI also and all those who have been rejected for empannelment mainly because of 360 degree be given justice.
Aarti Khosla

DEBATE (1) Corruption
Modi can definetely do it but he has to start from the top political leaders.Corruption is there at the highest level.
G S Mathur (DGP Retd)
DEBATE (2) Corruprtion
Modi can never do this. This is only a “Chunavi Jumla”.
Mridula Agrawal
Will NITI AYOG ever recommend privatization Defence Sector hospitals ?
Has the NITI AYOG got the guts to recommend the privatization of the hospitals which exists in the Defence Sector of the country? NITI Ayog recommends the privatization of railway hospitals on commercial grounds. What will happen if a Railway Accident takes place. The private hospitals (which come into being as a result of privatization of District and Railways hospitals) will ask money from the injured before picking him/her up. Medicine is a noble profession and we should not try to commercialize it. The private hospitals do not allow the patients to recuperate in their hospitals. Immediately, after the operation they pressurize their patients to leave the hospital as they hanker for new patients, whom they can fleece. It is seen that in most of the cases where the patients are made to leave the hospital in a hush and when he or she goes back to residence, they catch infection. They have no option but to rely back on the same hospital and they are again fleeced. Sometimes the infection becomes so acute that the patients dies. NITI AYOG during the last three years of its existence has done nothing and is trying to make such vague recommendations. After getting frustrated by the current state of Affairs, Shri Arvind Panigrahiya quit as the Vice Chairman of NITI Ayog. Not getting his leave extended is a 'bahana'
B B Srivastava

DEBATE (1)
It is next impossible in this country. In our DNA corruption is there. Modi can only control the rate of corruption.
G K Gandhi
AAR Mumbai
Authority for advance ruling is an important institution for settling income tax issues in advance. this institution is particularly for the benefit of non resident tax payers who want their tax issues to be settled in advance before undertaking business activity in India. but NCR and Mumbai bench of AAR is non functional since last more than a year despite posting of member in both the benches. it is not understood why bench is not functional. tax payers are suffering for want of advance ruling and the image of the country to non resident taxpayers is getting spoiled. will concerned authorities look into it.
Pavan Ved
Commissioner of Income-Tax (Retd.)
“ Utilisation of Military land “
Indian army has 39 military farms, housing some 25,000 cattle, occupying 20,000 acres of land across the country. British legacy.Cows milk was utilised by British officers and their orderlies. No longer popular with Indian army officers when shelf-stable, hygienically manufactured canned milk is readily available.
Employing about 20 officers and 2,000 civilians, the annual cost of maintenance of infrastructure of military farms is reported to be Rs 300 crores.Not economically viable.
It is time to consider proper utilisation of land in public interest.
Let the Army auction the cattle and valuable land. This will bring handsome revenue to the government that could be meaningfully utilised to make India’s Armed forces battle ready.
The Gau rakshak goons, one trusts, keep their hands off.
Besides military farms , there are large patches of vacant land owned by the Army spread all over the country. One is not sure whether these serve any purpose for the army.
If not in use, these could be meaningfully utilized by the central government for implementing social sector schemes.
Acquisition should, no doubt, be subject to approval of the Armed forces and without jeopardising national security.
A K Saxena (A retd civil servant)

DEBATE (1) Corruption
If Modi is so serious about eradication of corruption then should constitute Lok Pal and direct the state government’s to appoint Lokayukta compulsorily. Corruption can be eradicated only if the government runs by rules.
L S Hardenia
DEBTE (2) Corruption
Corruption can not be eradicated in this country. Even one thousand Modi’s can not eradicate corruption. Presently the maximum corruption is in BJP ruled states.
Kuldip Dhawan
War or Peace ?
“Military option is the fundamental guarantor of sovereignty”- spoke Xi Jinping, the mighty Chinese President. He may not be the first or only such an advocate of military option. The only thing is he is the first one in the world to prove Gautam Buddha wrong both in theory and practice. The success of the Chinese military operation in Tibet proves him right. Tibet was lost to the Chinese communist military dictatorship by the Tibetans who believed in peace as the highest ideal and goal as preached by the Great Buddha. Buddhism spread to a major part of the world on the strength of its commitment to peace and not military power. India has suffered loss of her sovereignty for more than 2500 years because of following the policy of non-violence and zero military option. Historiographers will need to carry out an honest evaluation of the consequences of pursuing hyper non-violence as mandated in the Ashokan rock inscriptions. India is not known to regain the Ashokan state power to govern after him. With a few flashes of glory interspersed in between, it has been a history of decline and suffering. The virtue, efficacy and power of peace was re-established by Mahatma Gandhi as a weapon to carry on the freedom movement. Whether it would have been a success against a China of Xi Jinping is another question. But no one should entertain any doubt about the need to make the country militarily strong to face any challenge from barbaric aggressors of the past or military dictatorships of the modern times. A country needs to guard its land, sea and air borders effectively to deter any evil intentions of an aggressor like China. India has pursued the policy of Panchsheel after Independence. It is time to review it now. The youth must be imparted military training for 5 years before they pass out senior secondary school. China lost more than India in 1962- communism was discredited globally as a result. In India, the left movement suffered grave stress which continues to haunt it even today.
M L Gupta

One hopes that India has some written assurances over and above and beyond the 29 June 2017 Press Statement of the Bhutan Foreign Affairs Ministry, to serve as the basis for the belief that Doka La or Doklam is Bhutanese territory and that Bhutan desires India to defend it under the India Bhutan Treaty of Friendship ratified on 02 March 2007.
The Indian Army derives legality for deployment in Doklam under Article 2 of the abovementioned treaty which states "Neither Government shall allow the use of its territory for activities harmful to the national security and interest of the other."
Any justification for Indian Troop movements necessarily predicates the establishment of, or at the very least, an unequivocal and categorical assertation from Bhutan that Doklam is Bhutanese territory.
The Bhutanese Foreign Ministry has avoided such a categorical public statement in the Press Statement of 29 June 2017 reproduced above, or in its statement made yesterday to the news agency ANI wherein it said, "Our position on the border issue of Doklam is very clear: Please refer to our statement which has been published on the website of Bhutan Foreign Ministry on June 29, 2017." [quoted in The Times of India, Friday August 11, 2017, New Delhi Capital Edition, Page 17.]
Whether this omission has taken place by oversight or by design, India must ask Bhutan to rectify this error and set the record straight in the public domain.
It just does not make sense to even contemplate a war, any war, however limited, on issues lacking clarity which rests on a Third Party which has allowed obfuscation to continue for almost 2 months even as China is alleging that it has contrary assurances from the same third party, viz Bhutan.
Namit Verma
Online portal for consumer complaints
There is an online portal of the Department of Consumer Affairs wherein one can load his grievance as a consumer.
B B Srivastava
Is NIC blocking websites ?
Is the NIC blocking all internet websites on all computers in all Ministries of Government of India. Is it part of a conscious policy ?
Vijay Kumar
Heartiest congratulations
Heartiest congratulations Archana. All the best for the new assignment.
R B S Rawat

Stalking case of a top bureaucrat’s daughter by the wayward son of BJP chief of Haryana, and his accomplice ,is appalling. Media reports that BJP chief’s nephew is also involved in yet another case of heinous crime of sexual misconduct. A family trait.
The stalkers were first arrested, then let off on bail by the Police. Strangely, the non-bailable charge of stalking initially included in FIR, was later deleted. Being law graduates, the culprits were familiar with gravity of the offence and accordingly activated their political contacts. Now in police custody, they have admitted to having committed the crime. The non-bailable charge of attempting to abduct under section 365 of the IPC and section 511 relating to attempt to commit an offence punishable with life or other imprisonment, has been pressed against the duo.
Let the law take its course.
The worrisome feature is, if this is the fate of a top bureaucrat’s daughter, how safe would be those poor, helpless girls with no clout and who are less fortunately circumstanced?
The police machinery is same everywhere. Corrupt, pliable, ever ready to oblige the political class. In the present, ends of justice would be met if a judicial inquiry is ordered into the conduct of Police-politicians nexus. Can’t expect anything from politicians. They consider themselves above the law.
The aggrieved girl deserves appreciation for going public in exposing the culprits. The Media must be congratulated for performing a yeoman service for fighting against VVIP culture of the political class.
A K Saxena (A retd civil servant)
Include in Black money !
Money spent out of exchequer for misuse of office, perks and facilities by the Bureaucrats, Defence Personnel and Ministers should also form a part of the black money.
Anurag Srivastava
Proper handling over of records
In how many government departments does a proper handling over of records take place? If the Information Commission keeps on imposing fine for missing records, there would not be any number of officers who would be left untouched from penalty.
Sumeet Sarkar

Raghu don't go with the rumour. Such an incident had never happened. The All India Service Officers and Group 'A' can never match the CSS officers in the matter of noting and drafting. The CSS officers go to court because of violation of the Article 14 and Article 16 of the Constitution of India. The 'Bada Babus' when they find they have lost in the CAT, they tell the Department to file a case on the High Court. Here also when the Department looses, they suggest filing of case in Supreme Court. The CSS officers never misuse office perks & facilities and milch the PSUs. The 'Bada Babus' are known for it. I have a lot of material received through the RTI Act and I propose to jam the governance wheel in the country only on account of misuse of office perks & facilities by the 'Bada Babus'.
B B Srivastava
Where to complaint against private hospitals fleecing patients ?
Can anybody help me out in letting me know which is the fora for making complaints against private hospitals fleecing patients. Courts are time consuming and costly. Cannot the Ministry of Health &FW do something about it or amend the Clinical Establishment Act to curb this loot. Or is there a nexus and nobody wants to burn his fingers.
K.S.Palachandran

My own estimates are based on presence of black or undeclared assets. Per estimates, India has close to 26000-28000 tonnes of gold, nearly 1,25 lakh tonnes of silver. Besides the quantity of diamonds and investments in land. All put together the amount of converted cash is close to 28-30 lakh crores. That is close to 4.5-5 trillion Dollars.
The estimates of gold are based on the presumption that 25-30% gold ever mined in the world had found its way to India. The total gold mined is believed to be 171000 Tonnes. This translates to 45000-50000 tonnes having come to India since the time gold has been mined in the world. However considering the pillaging of gold by invaders and then the East India company, the actual amount may have diminished to present estimation above.
Silver mining was never known in India, but fondness of the metal for utensils, Jewellery etc, meant huge imports over the years.
There is no way the value of diamonds can ever be discovered and guesstimates may peril any adventurer in this direction.
Black money has always been and still is an important component of land and property dealings. The cash component ranged from 30% to 75%. The component of cash to cheque has narrowed substantially over the years, but old cash already assimilated in the economy has nevertheless to be computed.
Ajay Agnihotri

CSS always behaves like men at Jantar Mantar and even on smallest pretext going to courts against everybody and has largest number of cases any service has against the Govt. How can they behave in such a childish manner that they can Gherao the DOPT Minister ? It would have been better had they used other foras ?
Rahgu
Definition of 'authorized service' ?
Department of Personnel & Training, representing the feudalistic minded IAS fraternity, is stalling the promotion of Central Secretariat Service Officers by raising questions about the definition of 'authorized service' in age old CSS officers. I have obtained a lot of information about misuse of office perks & facilities by the Ministers and blue colored IAS chaps. If the promotion of CSS officers is delayed any further, I will not shy away from bringing the matter of misuse of office & perks before the Press. I am also a past retired Secretary level officers.
B B Srivastava

China is India's permanent enemy. We must talk tough with China and remain battle-ready. India’s candy-floss foreign policy emboldens China to wild gesticulation, over estimating its potential. India must keep enhancing its missile technology, naval quotient. All at fast pace.
China’s mindless pestering through government-controlled daily the “Global Times “ and official spokespersons deserve forceful reposte from India.
China threatens attacking India, if , it does not first withdraw troops from Doklam and stop “ interference “ in Bhutan.
India must set its own pre-conditions for settling border dispute with China on holistic basis. Aggression is the best form of defence.
Consider the following factors
China must be continuously warned about its continuous infringements of bilateral and multilateral treaties to satisfy its insatiable appetite for land
(a) China must vacate Tibet and restore its autonomy to pre- 7 October 1950 position when it was taken over by China . Guarantee of non- interference in future is a must ;
(b) Must restore Aksai Chin to India. Forcibly occupied by China in 1958. Nehru’s historic blunder.
(c) Must demolish and stop further construction at Doklam. Recall how Aksai chin road was constructed , not insidiously. But, missed out by IB. Pt Nehru broke the news to Parliament an year too late. Lot of fireworks was generated in Parliament.
(d) Must stop bullying India ;
(e) Must stop poking Bhutan;
(f ) Must stop abetting Indian Maoists ;
(g) Must stop incursions into India -- HP, AP, Sikkim, Uttaranchal
(h) Chinese intelligence is hyper-active in inciting the north-eastern militant groups. In retaliation, the unrest among the Chinese Uyghur muslim population, must be addressed.
(i ) Declare Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin as a global terrorist and blocking India’s application by misusing its Veto power.
China must be warned by World powers for continuous infringements of bilateral and multilateral treaties to satisfy its insatiable appetite for land. It is increasing by the day.
A K Saxena (A retd civil servant)

I wish to share with fellow surfers my disgust and anger after reading Arundhati Roy's latest novel "The Ministry of Utmost Happiness. I hope you all have heard the name of this lady who won the Man Booker Prize for her first book in 1997.She came out with this second book after 20 years. I found it among the New arrivals in the India International Centre Library and picked it up to read. What a waste of time ? The book is neither a fiction nor history. It is simply a tirade against India for 'occupying Kashmir' and killing innocent Kashmiris by torturing them. According to her innocent boys are caught by our security people ,tortured and killed for awards and medals. In the long conflict in Kashmir some aberrations have taken place but Ms. Roy has portrayed our uniformed men worse than devils out to kill harmless ,innocent people. For her other innocents killed by jihadis do not matter. For her India is forcefully occupying Kashmir through her military. The stories of torture in her so-called fiction narrative are too gory to absorb. She is outright insulting our present Prime minister by calling him "Gujrat ka Lalla' , Manmohan Singh is Trapped Rabbit. She has insulted many leaders by using humiliating expressions for them. The book is a real trash bordering on vulgarity for use of four letter words too often and some filthy abuses too. There is no plot. Starting with a story of a hijra she rambles on to Kashmir and politics. It is disgusting to find that the book has been included in the list for Manbooker Prize again. What will foreigners think of India after reading it ? Already in a review in the "New York Review of Books' conclusion has been drawn and I quote "Roy seems to be saying: This is the country i live in. This is a nation whose citizens are capable of greed, corruption, indifference, horrific mob violence" etc. Kashmiris and Pakistanis will of course adore her for what she wrote. She has all through supported Maoists and now militants in Kashmir endorsing what Pakistan wants. My advice to her, 'please leave this country. Go live elsewhere’.
Aarti Khosla