Whispers Forum

A delegation of politicians from Bihar called on PM Modi August 23, to impress upon him the ‘ significance ’ of holding ‘ Caste-based ’ census in the country.
The motive was political: To widen voters’ base as an electoral tool to score brownie points for elections. The suggestion was not based on high moral ground. A misplaced perception.
In a democracy, the man is considered rational. And, if, the individual allows his/her irrationality to guide his political attitude ,he/she is supposed to be negating the basic premise of political life. Impact : Democracy becomes the casualty in the long run. This would be the implication of the course of action mooted by the Bihar delegation. PM Modi, as a seasoned politician and Vishwa Guru, is aware of potential repercussions of the move .
Recall the caste-based census of 2011. Caste details were collected by the enumerators. But, the agency to authenticate the same ,was not identified. Findings were disastrous and have not been put in public domain, till date. The committee formed to suggest steps to remove roadblocks, was stillborn.
It will be unjust and unfair to put the entire blame on Bihar’s casteist politicians. The demand for caste-based census, was triggered by the 127th Constitutional Amendment Bill unanimously passed by both the Houses of Parliament, allowing States and union territories to prepare and maintain their own list of OBCs, that sought to undo Supreme court’s verdict.
The move is bound to cause unintended consequences across the country. Any electorally significant group could now claim to be an OBC. The law has the potential to cause socio-political upheaval in the country as a large number of sub-castes would push for quotas, exceeding the 50% limit.
But, the moot point is: How to identify the various variants of a dominant group? Different groups carry different names in different states and Union Territories. Worse, which agency/authority will authenticate different OBC variants that will push for inclusion of their castes under the umbrella of OBCs. The situation remains the same, till date. It will be second exercise in futility.
All things considered, the latest demand for caste-based census, will further fragmantise and mandalise our already caste-ridden society.
Democracy will get reduced to hypocrisy. The country should be prepared to face Mandal-II.
A K Saxena (A former civil servant)

To bring about transparency and show how quick the working of the PMO is, it would be proper to partially open the e-office of the PM. After the files are cleared, the dates of receipt and disposal of files at the PMO should be disclosed. This would put pressure on the other departments of the government to act quickly and lead to efficiency in work. It is very easy to implement in the e-office. Would the PMO be willing to take the lead? Or, as it is claimed in the corridors of power, the PMO is the hub of slow activity with files taking months to clear.
Sumita Kashyap

This case is indicative of
1. How the government agencies at the senior most level (such as the President's secretariat) do not wish to part with simple information even if it is innocuous.
2. Information which ought to be brought to the public domain suo-motu has to be asked for. This information should have been in public domain after the decision is complete and over.
3. How the Information Commission has been made ineffective and incapable to doing what they are supposed to do. Unfortunately, the career bureaucrats are willing to crawl when asked to bend. They have lost the moral courage to issue orders as per law.
Sukumar Upadhyay

In Government service at least one thing was known and that was the "date of retirement". But I think this rule applied to only below Secretary-level posts who have to retire on the due date of their retirement. Others are getting extension and extension - be it Cabinet Secretary/ Home Secretary/ DGPs/ some selected Secretaries/ Officers in the PMO, etc. I had thought that this practice of previous Governments will not be continued by the BJP Government. But alas! For the BJP Government it perhaps means that other junior level officers due for promotion as Secretary etc are not competent. But on the other hand those due for promotion as Secretary are losing this opportunity of getting the highest bureaucratic position. My suggestion to the Government is that there should be no extension in service beyond the date of superannuation in Central as well as State Governments. And there should not be any exception to this rule.
Pradeep Kumar
Balmer Lawrie should continue
Balmer Lawrie should remain in service to the nation.
Subir Seal

India is a vibrant Democracy which implies that the will of the majority should prevail. The Government in this case represents the will of majority and not the opposition. As long as the house is conducted in accordance with the rules of conduct of business which the Speaker decides , there is no justification for the unruly behaviour of the opposition. The opposition does not respect the will of the majority.
Bharat Bhushan Pande
Partition Horrors Remembrance day – a futile idea
Prime Minister gave a call the other day from the ramparts of Red Fort to make 14th August as Partition Horrors Remembrance day. I wonder whether it is a good idea to remember those horrors. As a five year old child, I remember the horrors of those days. What my grandparents and other relatives went through. How my father,( who was with the Railways ) after opting for India was transferred from Gujarkhan near Rawalpindi to a very small station near Bhatinda where except for us there were only three families of support staff 1 Lever man, waterman and a signal man to light the lamps at the signals. The nearest village was two miles away. A group of Nihangs with spears came and ordered my father, the station manager to stop a train carrying refugees to the other side (Muslims naturally. Their intention was obvious.) My father refused as the train was supposed to run through. The train passed through and the Nihags were livid with anger. They threatened to kill us that night. My father just rushed one of the staff to the village to get some help. The villagers led by one landlord came with two bullock carts and took us and the rest of the staff and their families. How for days and months we suffered losing my kid brother also due to illness till my father got a new posting at a better and safer place. My maternal grandmother almost went insane after coming over to this part of partition after losing her land and house in a village near Sargodha named after my late maternal grandfather. The generation born in Pakistan is either dead or very old. Why remind them of those horrors?
Aarti Khosla

Was hearing about glitches in the Income Tax return filing portal. Today I experienced it. I have income from pension and bank interest. So I can file a return in ITR1. Till last year, the moment details of return details were successfully uploaded to Income Tax portal of CPC Bangalore, ITRV used to generate automatically. Return of income is considered valid only when ITRV is verified by the return filer, received by the CPC and acknowledged by them. This time my return details were successfully uploaded but the system did not generate ITRV. My CA tried for almost 45 minutes but without success. Then he disclosed that they are facing this problem for all returns. This is a very serious glitch in the system of CPC. May I request FM and senior officers of the Department to look into this matter so that taxpayers can file returns in a hassle free manner.
A K
Provide hyperlink to citation in Date with RTI
Under the Heading Date with RTI, it will be highly appreciated if hyperlink is provided to citation given on the subject. This link will be highly effective in promoting transparency for promotion of RTI.
S Meenakshi Sundaram

What happened in Parliament especially Rajya Sabha this monsoon session is not only shocking but quite painful. One was upset to see the Chairman breaking down on the ruckus that marred the proceedings. Venkaiah Naidu is a perfect gentle man politician. He has been conducting the job of the Chairman Rajya Sabha with impartiality. His anguish is therefore on the goings on during this session is understandable. As one who during the course of one's career as civil servant had many occasions to be present in the official gallery whenever any matter pertaining to the ministry one worked in be it a star question a bill or something other .It was a matter of pride to be listening to our members of parliament speaking and debating.. i was witness to some finest speeches in Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha. There were some aberrations in the conduct of some of the members then also but nothing of the nature one is seeing now. The aggressiveness, sloganeering and scuffles. One is really ashamed of who indeed is responsible for this downfall, actually the end of parliamentary democracy? Both sides. Opposition wanted discussion on Pegasus, Price rise and Farm laws(and why not zero all important issues .They were not given heed to instead the other side went on pushing one bill after another without debate, discussion. "You go on shouting we do not care” that means they do not care for the people of this country who elected members to the parliament from parties in opposition.
Aarti Khosla

There is a pressing need for implementing the Police Commissionerate system in eligible towns and cities all across the country to manage the law and order situation of the teeming towns and cities of India in a modern way. That is the way towns and cities all over the world are managed. Why should India be so fixated on its colonial past that it has to cling to the obsolete legacy of the past? The colonial hangover of the system of the District Collector has to be junked at last now. At present, there is wide variation in implementation of this measure across the country. The Police Commissionerate system has worked very well, wherever it has been implemented in the right spirit, for example, in Gujarat. At the same time, Municipal Commissioner system can also be implemented in such cities and towns. These reforms are long overdue.
Vijay Kumar
All games be treated equally
You are absolutely right. Even big corporate houses and industrialists run after Cricketers for endorsing their products. All games should be given equal prominence.
Interdjeet Singh

This is factually wrong. From time immemorial, Committee of Secretaries has vetted names of all appointments above Joint Secretary before sending to ACC. But for past 3 years the concept of interviews was brought in and in last 3 years all appointees in CBDT and CBIC were interviewed for selection as Member. What change has now happened to warrant this news?
Ajay Agnihotri
GoI should also consider other employees for promotions
Government of India should also consider other employees in terms of promotions. IAS no doubt have an upper hand but he is ably assisted by his subordinates without which he or she cannot function properly. In a calendar year, two batches are getting promotion whereas others are lingering on one issue or the other, mainly unwanted court cases. If a person is aggrieved and goes to court, his whole batch, seniors and juniors are affected. Government should promote uniformly and the grievances should be addressed in proper forum without affecting the entire spectrum. There should be a serious thought on this and a solution should be found at once.
Ramesh