Justice Thakur: A daring judge who doesn’t mince his words

By Neeraj Mahajan

An unconventional judge who wields the sword and is not afraid to speak his mind — this is the shortest description about Justice Thakur, the new Chief Justice of India.

Justice Thakur

Better known as the Supreme Court Judge, who heard the Sahara investors refund case against Subroto Roy in the apex court after Justice J.S. Khehar recused himself from the hearing, Justice Thakur is known to be a thinking judge who does not hesitate to call a spade a spade.

Born on 4th Jan 1952 and enrolled as an Advocate on 5th April 1974 Justices Tirath Singh Thakur started practice in the Jammu & Kashmir High Court before being appointed Additional Judge of the J&K High Court. He was soon transferred to Karnataka and Delhi High Courts before being appointed Chief Justice of Punjab and Haryana High Court. Justice Thakur was the senior most judge of Delhi High Court before he was named the chief justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court on a vacancy created by the retirement of Justice Vijender Jain. It was from here that he moved to Supreme Court first as a judge and is now tipped to be the Chief Justice of India.

He is the son of the late DD Thakur, and the lawyer turned finance minister of Jammu and Kashmir, who defended Sheikh Abdullah when he was arrested for alleged anti-national activities during the Nehru era. His brother Justice Dhiraj Singh Thakur is a sitting judge in Jammu & Kashmir High Court.

On many occasions, Justice Tirath Singh Thakur has demonstrated a knack for upholding the right cause both as a Supreme Court and High Court judge even at the cost of ruffling a few feathers. Justice Thakur created a sensation when as a sitting Supreme Court judge and executive Chairman of the National Legal Services Authority (NALSA) he claimed that over 40 percent Indians were deprived of fundamental rights and opportunities.

“Over 40 percent of Indians are living below the poverty line. They also are surviving with the lack of literacy, lack of critical opportunities and scopes besides economic deficiencies.” Justice Thakur said while delivering a speech at a symposium.

“Our target must be to support neglected people of our society. Injustice cannot be tolerated in our system,” Justice Thakur said. “There is a commitment to ensure that poor peoples have equal access to justice. We have been devising our ways to reach out to them”, he added.

Delivering another bold judgment an apex court bench of Justice TS Thakur and Justice Kurian Joseph called for greater transparency and “objectivity” in the selection of law officers. “Normally people picked (as law officers) are known” and there are instances when people engaged in other vocations, including politics, are appointed government counsel.

Taking exception to such appointments made by state governments, Justice Thakur said: “Some people grace the office (they come to occupy) and (in other cases) office graces the person.”

Going a step further, the Court observed that from the kind of appointment and the remuneration paid appeared as if it is, “some pension. Lakhs of rupees are going down the drain just for doing nothing.”

The Apex court bench also took the Punjab government to task for appointing 74 Additional Advocate General, five Senior Deputy Advocate General, 40 Deputy Advocate General, 55 Assistant Advocate General and two Advocate on Record for 40 courts in Punjab. Even if there were one committed law officer for each court, that would have been sufficient, the court observed.

On yet another occasion Justice Thakur created a stir when as the Chief Justice of the Punjab and Haryana High Court he lambasted the Punjab government for failing to implement the Juvenile Justice Act.

Speaking at a seminar Justice Tirath Singh Thakur claimed that the Punjab government had not met several statutory requirements of the Act. “A constitutional body like the child welfare committee is missing from most districts, no inspection committee has been set up to monitor the working of children’s homes, and there is no shelter home in the state,” he said.

“The state had not bothered to set up a juvenile justice fund, and the state has no advisory board either for the implementation of the Act,” he added.

Pointing out the pendency of cases under the Juvenile Justice Act. “I have been told that 776 cases are pending in Punjab where the juveniles have been in an observation home for over two years. In Haryana there are 4,000 cases where the juveniles have been in observation homes for more than four months,” he said. Justice Thakur added that the state governments should be careful in choosing members for the juvenile justice boards.

Some of the other landmark judgments delivered by him include the one against suspended Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) president Narayanswami Srinivasan and two IPL franchises Chennai Super Kings and Rajasthan Royals for their alleged involvement in the match-fixing and betting in IPL VI. Srinivasan was stopped from participating in BCCI affairs because of the conflict of interest as he was BCCI president as well as a stakeholder in Chennai Super Kings (CSK) at the same time.

He along with Justice Markandey Katju pronounced a path-breaking judgment on whether a lady can claim maintenance and other benefits if she was deserted by the man she was living with in a live-in-relationship.

The landmark ruling recognized the rights of a woman if the man and woman though not formally married were living as husband and wife. In other words, they are helping each other and are not living together merely for a sexual purpose.

Delivering judgment on a contempt petition against the government for not complying with its direction to implement OROP, as per 2008 judgment Justice Thakur reminded the government: “This was part of your manifesto for the Lok Sabha elections. You must keep your word.”

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Modi's model of economic, political and social justice- a perspective

By Vijay Sanghvi

 Sketching contemporary events form a historical perspective always stirs a hornet’s nest-inviting strong reactions and powerful refutations. Self-interests tend to disbelieve historical interpretations of events caused by or benefits accrued to them. The growing dissatisfaction of the middle class with the present regime as it failed to reap a rich harvest of advantages from the promised rapid economic growth tells a different story. The elite class was invariably the exclusive beneficiary of the economic development. It expected NaMo would deliver more to them. Instead, they find he was overcrowding markets with new entrants.

 The first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru adopted the Soviet model for economic development. In it, the commanding heights of public sector eliminated scope for participation of private individuals except the manipulators of the system.  His social welfare schemes were by nature of throwing crumbs at some sections, the deprived and the Dalit. But they were kept on the institutional door steps.Nehru had no measure of the prevalence of poverty was proved in 1963, the Third Five Year Plan with the eruption of controversy in parliament that compelled the government to define the poverty line. But it did not change the direction of the economic development to make poor fight their circumstances. The successive regimes continued the same model of development, often using it to lure vote banks.

 For six decades nearly third of population remained in abyss of poverty as they were fed with free bread rather than motivate them to work to earn their bread. Management of scarcity mentality was much more profitable politics than co0nverting in to a system of surplus through rapid activation of more Indians. Dependents have herd mentality but economically better off tend to act independently. Even Green revolution ended up in enrichment of big farmers, 12 per cent of peasantry controlling 80 marketable surplus of agro products though impression was etched that it was for benefit of entire farm sector  Corruption born of plethora of restrictive legislations added further deformities to deny even rights to sections that did not grease the greedy palms.

PV Narasimha Rao

 In 1992, the Rao regime partially opened doors to enable a small part of the lower class to move into the upper strata as economic institutions gave them opportunity to participate in the economic activities. The growth rate tripled with loosening of the stranglehold of bureaucratic controls. The Success of few Indians in other systems gave inspiration to many to follow their footsteps. The Man Mohan Singh era relapsed into old conservative politics in the second tranche to push the economy to an unending slump for three years. As Sharad Pawar pointed out in his book ‘At my Terms’ the National Advisory Council had overtaken the structure to impose decisions that slowed down the economic growth. Significant resources were diverted to creating vote banks.

Charity was again the chief instrument for elimination of poverty but making poor more dependent on crumbs than work and fight.  Narendra Modi inherited the economy suffering from paralysis of decisions at the top level.

 A debate will continue in present times over intentions of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his initiatives for correcting the deformities. However, he decisively chalked out a new path of inspiring everyone to fight their circumstance and end the era of freee services. Everyone need to pay for the services received was his motto.

He chose to initiate ideas of long gestation nature, but his targets were clear. He deliberately chose the deprived and the Dalit to be the targets for improvement. They were denied not only socio-economic justice but also facilities to improve their abilities. The education system was devised not to assist them to rise above the secondary grades. He touched upon the sensitive issue of lack of skills that education did not impart. Without skills, they have no hopes of better life. He ignited lights of hope in their hearts by pointing out the tremendous potential for them outside India as most aged countries have demanded for skilled young hands to operate their machines as their citizens are unable to perform the task due to advanced age.

He introduced social and health security for them through his innovative schemes of opening bank accounts to ensure accident insurance. Never before, any regime thought of unorganized sector for the social security coverage. In 18 months, he offered microscopic except words of allurement to invite foreign capital to the middle class that craved for more benefits having voted for him. In the end, most families realized that not only they had nothing was given but their existence in the economic institutions was becoming intolerable. Their easy access to powers that are was not only closed on the pretext of ridding corruption from the system, but it also allowed overcrowding of more sharers of benefits.

 This was a strange phenomenon as the middle class was the traditional vote bank of the party he heads in the government. Yet he put them in a quandary from where they can not complain too much. His agenda, for the Lok Sabha election and also later on, did not gel with the conservative class living on firm belief of the cultural supremacy of the class for ages. Was he deliberately ignoring them to replace them as his vote bank was the question in several minds but none ready to publicly air. The traditional thinking in the party was caught up in two twists. His agenda has achieved a miracle of a clear majority for the party under him. It came after two unsuccessful efforts to win over the masses. The Dalit and the deprived stayed out of its ambit and the minorities never even attempted to come closer. Yet his agenda renders the old formula irrelevant.

 The dilemma was reflected in the unseasonal eruption of incidents of communal tensions that ensured the defeat of his method in the Bihar battle. The educated young among the deprived and the Dalit may have looked up to him with new hope but were terrified of losing what they had gained so far by voting the upper class to power. NaMo suffered more from internal confusion than from his opponents on the other side. NaMo had to bid for time to get the courage to challenge his domestic detractors. Thus, the year 2016 became a decisive factor in his career.

 His opponents may not accept that he has outsmarted them all. He laid the foundations for the end of the imperial domination of Indian affairs to pave a way for other classes to take over as was predicted by Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia in 1966. If you cannot defeat them join them and lick them was the strategy apparent in his achievement.

Is Bharat Ratna a joke or mockery?

By Neeraj Mahajan

Truth is sometimes stranger than fiction. Many strange things that have happened India, since Independence. From Patna Railway station and Gandhi Maidan being mortgaged by then Chief Minister Jagannath to atleast three members of the Nehru family unashamedly awarding the Bharat Ratna to themselves.

Bharat Ratna literally meaning Jewel of India is India’s highest civilian award. At least 45 people have been conferred with the prestigious award- 12 posthumously. India’s second Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri was the first to be honored posthumously.

The award is conferred “in recognition of exceptional service/performance of the highest order”, without distinction of race, occupation, position, or sex. Bharat Ratna awardees rank seventh in the Indian order of precedence.

Each recipient gets a Sanad (certificate) signed by the President, peepal-leaf–shaped medallion; nut no money.

As per protocol the President can confer the award to a maximum of three awardees per year on the recommendation made by the Prime Minister Office PMO.

The first Bharat Ratna award was given in 1954 – C. Rajagopalachari, S. Radhakrishnan and C. V. Raman, were the first awardees.

Initially there was no provision for giving the award posthumously but the rules were changed in 1955 to permit posthumous awards. This paved the way for political manipulation of the award to honour K. Kamaraj (1976), M. G. Ramachandran (1988), Vallabhbhai Patel (1991) and Madan Mohan Malaviya (2015) and B. R. Ambedkar to woo the gullible voters to coincide with assembly elections. Interestingly both Madan Mohan Malaviya and  Vallabhbhai Patel died, much before 1954 when the award was initiated.

Sachin Tendulkar, at 40 was the youngest recipient; while Centenarian Dhondo Keshav Karve was the oldest. So far the “Bharat Ratna” has been awarded to three outsiders Mother Teresa (naturalised citizen), Khan Abdul Ghaffar Khan (Pakistan) and Nelson Mandela (South Africa).

This is really ironic since no effort has been made to confer “Bharat Ratna” upon father of the nation Mahatma Gandhi. A PIL was filed in the Karnataka High Court seeking directions to the Ministry of Home Affairs was dismissed.

On the other hand, Morarji Desai unashamedly accepted the Bharat Ratna which his own Janata Party government had discontinued as being worthless and politicized

Bharat Ratna Pariwar- Who Is Next?

But the real punch in the story is how Prime Ministers Jawaharlal Nehru (1955), his daughter Indira Gandhi (1971) and grandson Rajiv Gandhi (1991) recommended their own names to the President of India for the award.

Curiously Indira Gandhi the only child of India’s first Prime Minister, Jawaharlal Nehru who started as her father’s personal assistant and hostess during his tenure as prime minister (1947-1964) received the award without doing anything significant.

She became Congress President in 1959 and become a cabinet minister in Lal Bahadur Shastri government after her father’s death in 1964. In 1966 following Shastri’s death she contested the elections in 1966 and became prime minister of India, defeating Morarji Desai.

It might be recalled that whatever good (victory 1971 war) or bad (emergency: 1975-1977) she did happened after— not before the award.

Eminent political observers recall how President V V Giri bypassed all norms to recommend Indira Gandhi again for Bharat Ratna after the 1971 war.

Like wise Rajiv Gandhi who got 1000s of IPKF troops killed in Sri Lanka (1987) and burnt his fingers in the Bofors scandal. It damaged his credibility so much that children openly went around shouting “Gali gali main shor hai, Rajiv Gandhi Chor hai”. This resulted in a major defeat for his party in the 1989 elections.

But after his assassination, his widow Sonia became Congress party, president in 1998 and led the party to victory in the 2004 and 2009 parliament elections. His son Rahul a Member of Parliament became Vice President of Congress party in 1991. Soon Rajiv Gandhi was posthumously nominated for Bharat Ratna, the country’s highest civilian award.

List of Bharat Ratna Awardees

Top 10 Armies in the World

By Col Shiv Om Rana, PhD

No. 1 – US Army

The United States Army (USA) is the largest and most powerful army in the world. It has a worldwide presence in various shape and sizes. It has the capability to respond to any eventuality in any continent in a short span of time on being approved by the President of America.

The Continental Army was created on 14 June 1775 by the Continental Congress as a unified army for the colonies to fight Great Britain, with George Washington appointed as its commander. The army was initially led by men who had served in the British Army or colonial militias and who brought much of British military heritage with them. As the Revolutionary War progressed, French aid, resources, and military thinking influenced the new army. Many European soldiers came on their own to help, such as Friedrich Wilhelm von Steuben, who taught the Prussian army tactics and organizational skills.

After the war, though, the Continental Army was quickly given land certificates and disbanded in a reflection of the republican distrust of standing armies. State militias became the new nation’s sole ground army, with the exception of a regiment to guard the Western Frontier and one battery of artillery guarding West Point’s arsenal. However, because of continuing conflict with Native Americans, it was soon realized that it was necessary to field a trained standing army. The Regular Army was at first minuscule, and after General St. Clair’s defeat at the Battle of the Wabash, the Regular Army was reorganized as the Legion of the United States, which was established in 1791 and renamed the “United States Army” in 1796.

No. 2 – Russian Army

The Russian Armed Forces the military service of Russia formed after the dissolution of the Soviet Union. On 7 May 1992, Boris Yeltsin signed a presidential decree establishing the Russian Ministry of Defence and placing all Soviet Armed Forces troops on the territory of the Russian SFSR under Russian control.The commander-in-chief of the armed forces is the president of Russia. Although the Russian armed forces were formed in 1992, the Russian military dates its roots back to the times of the Kievan Rus.

The Soviet Union officially dissolved on 31 December 1991, leaving the Soviet military in limbo. For the next year and a half various attempts to keep its unity and to transform it into the army of the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) failed. Over time, some units stationed in the newly independent republics swore loyalty to their new national governments, while a series of treaties between the newly independent states divided up the military’s assets.

No. 3 – Chinese People’s Liberation Army (PLA)

The People’s Liberation Army of China is the armed forces of People’s Republic of China and Communist Party (CPC). 01 August is celebrated annually as Chinese Workers and Farmers Red Army Day. The PLA consists of five professional service branches: the Ground Force, the Navy, the Air Force, the Rocket Force and the Strategic Support Force. The PLA is the world’s largest military force, with a strength of approximately 2,285,000 personnel, 0.18% of the country’s population.

The PLA is under the command of the Central MilitaryCommission (CMC) of the CPC. Following the principle of civilian control of the military, the commander in chief is the Chairman of the Central Military Commission (usually the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China).

China has a long military tradition, dating backto the earliest days of recorded history.The history of the People’sLiberation Army began in 1927 with the start of the Chinese Civil War and spanned to the present, having developed from a peasant guerrilla force into the largest armed force in the world.

No. 4 – Indian Army

The Indian Armed Forces are the military forces of the Republic of India. It consists of three professional uniformed services: the Indian Army, Indian Navy, and Indian Air Force. The Indian Armed Forces are under the management of the Ministry of Defence (MoD), which is led by the Union Cabinet Minister of Defence. With the strength of over 1.3 million active personnel, it is world’s 3rd largest military force and has the world’s biggest volunteer army.

The Indian armed forces have been engaged in a number of thelarge military operations post-independence, including the Indo-Pakistani Wars of 1947, 1965 and 1971, the Portuguese-Indian War (Goa), the Sino-Indian War, the 1967 Chola/ Nathula (Sikkim) incident, the 1987 Sino-Indian skirmish,Sumdorong Chu valley (Arunachal Pradesh), the Kargil War, and the Siachen conflict among others.

India has one of the longest military histories, dating back several millennia. The first reference of armies is found in the Vedas as well as the epics Ramayana and Mahabaratha.

British Army in India was raised from the State Forces and local recruitment. The officers were Britishers who were assigned to difference Regiments like Madras Regiment, Sikh Regiment or Punjab Regiment.

No. 5 – British Army

The British Armed Forces form the military of the United Kingdom, tasked with the defence of thecountry, its overseas territories and the Crown dependencies; as well as promoting the UK’s wider interests, supporting international peacekeeping efforts, and providing humanitarian aid.

Upon the Act of Union in 1707, the armed forces of England and Scotland were merged into the armed forces of the Kingdom of Great Britain. By 1815, with the defeat of Napoleon at the Battle of Waterloo Britain had risen to become the world’s dominant superpower, and the British Empire subsequently presided over a period of relative peace, until the outbreak of World War I in 1914.

No. 6 – French Army

The French Army is the land-based and largest component of the French Armed Forces. Along with the French Air Force, the French Navy and the National Gendarmerie, it is placed under the responsibility of the French government.

The first permanent army was established under Charles VII in the 1420-30s. The These units of troops were raised by issuing ordinances to govern their length of service, composition and payment. Stationed throughout France and summoned into larger armies as needed.

The bulk of the infantry for warfare was still provided by urban or provincial militias, raised from an area or city to fight locally and named for their recruiting grounds. Regiments could be raised directly by the King and so called after the region in which they were raised, or by the Nobility and so called after the Noble or his appointed Colonel.

No. 7 – South Korean Army

The Republic of Korea Army, also known as the ROK Army, is the army of South Korea, responsible for ground-based warfare.The modern South Korean army traces its lineage back to the Gwangmu Reform when the Beolgyegoon was established by Emperor Gojong in 1881. The 1st of every October is celebrated in South Korea as Armed Forces Day. It commemorates the day during the Korean War when units of the ROK Army first crossed the 38th Parallel, thus leading the UN Coalition north into North Korean territory for the first time.

The army is structured to operate in both the mountainous terrain native to the Korean Peninsula (70% mountainous) and in North Korea with its 1-million-strong Korean People’s Army, two-thirds of which is permanently garrisoned in the frontline near the DMZ (De-Militarized Zone).

No. 8- German Army

The German Army is the land component of the armed forces of Germany. The German Army was founded in 1955 as part of the newly formed West German Bundeswehr together with the Marine (German Navy) and the Luftwaffe (German Air Force).

A German Army, equipped, organized and trained following a single doctrine, and permanently unified under one command dates from 1871, and the unification of Germany under the leadership of Prussia.
After World War II Germany was split into two sovereign states and both formed their militaries: on 12 November 1955, the first recruits began their service in the West German Heer while on 1 March 1956 the East German Landstreitkräfte der NVA (Land Forces of the National People’s Army) were founded.

No. 9 – Japanese Army

Flag: Ground Self Defense Forces

The Imperial Japanese Army, literally “Army of the Greater Japanese Empire”, was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan, from 1871 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of War, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor of Japan as supreme commander of the army and the navy.

During the Meiji Restoration, the military forces loyal to Emperor Meiji were samurai drawn primarily from the loyalist daimyos of Satsuma and Chōshū Domains. After the successful overthrow of the Government of Meiji Japan or bakufu and establishment of the new government of Meiji Japan modeled on European lines, a more formal military, loyal to the central government rather than individual domains, became recognized by the general populace as a necessity to preserve Japan’s independence from western imperialism.

No. 10 – Turkish Army

The Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) Turkish: are the military forces of the Republic of Turkey. They consist of the Army, the Navy and the Air Force.

Emblem of the Turkish Army

After becoming a member of NATO on 18 February 1952, Turkey initiated a comprehensive modernization program for its Armed Forces. The Turkish Army sent troops to fight in Korea, where they played pivotal roles at some points.

After the end of World War I, many Ottoman military personnel escaped from Rumelia to Anatolia to take part in the national movement. During the War of Independence, on 3 May 1920, Birinci Ferik Mustafa Fevzi Pasha was appointed the Minister of National Defence.

The Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) Turkish: are the military forces of the Republic of Turkey. They consist of the Army, the Navy and the Air Force.After becoming a member of NATO on 18 February 1952, Turkey initiated a comprehensive modernization program for its Armed Forces. The Turkish Army sent troops to fight in Korea, where they played pivotal roles at some points.

After the end of World War I, many Ottoman military personnel escaped from Rumelia to Anatolia to take part in the national movement. During the War of Independence, on 3 May 1920, Birinci Ferik Mustafa Fevzi Pasha was appointed the Minister of National Defence.

The man who got promoted for ruining MMTC

By Neeraj Mahajan

There is a saying what you sow… so shall you reap.

A CEO of a private corporation engaged in loss-making shady deals may be called to question and possibly shown the door, but it seems the same rules do not apply to Teflon coated Indian bureaucrats heading public sector corporations.

 It is the message that one gets from the fate of Deepinder Singh Dhesi a 1982-batch Haryana cadre IAS officer who got promoted even after allegedly ruining MMTC and its work culture as its Chairman and Managing Director.

According to sources, D. S. Dhesi who held additional charge of MMTC was never really interested in the commercial viability of the trading organization. “He had his selfish objectives and favors like stay in luxury hotels and staff cars at his disposal,” sources said.

 Reportedly some of the hallmarks of Dhesi’s tenure were – indiscriminate charge sheet against honest officials, sheltering the corrupt and decision-making in the hands of a select coterie of staff members.

 Such was the sorry state of affairs that Metals and Minerals Trading Corporation of India MMTC Ltd., — one of India’ top exporters, highest foreign exchange earner and largest public sector trading giant and Five Star Export House was allegedly transformed into a school for scams, scandals, and shady deals.

 According to insiders, D S Dhesi’s tenure as CMD was one of the worst phase seen by MMTC. Even though MMTC has seen many corrupt and weak leaders in the past, it was never a loss making organization. But during Dhesi’s tenure MMTC for the first time went into the red. It was also a period when delinquent officials were protected, and honest officers were victimized; as a result, there was no incentive to work and MMTC’s revenue dropped by one-third.

 Allegedly such was the mismanagement that persons with shady backgrounds – Rajeev Jaideva,  Anand Trivedi, and M G Gupta were not only allowed to rise to board level posts but also to abuse their positions to draw allowances beyond 50 % of basic pay that is the maximum permissible as per DPE guidelines.

 One of the first things that Deepinder Singh Dhesi did after taking over as CMD on Oct 6, 2012, was to bring in his set of people in the Functional management committee of Directors. MG Gupta, who caused a loss of Rs 10 Crore to MMTC in the M/s Suchetan Exports deal, was appointed Director (Finance) (MMTC). He was te one who ordered import of 11,000 MT of coal at a higher price from the foreign supplier. MMTC  suffered a loss of Rs 10 crore in the deal) while Anand Trivedi, another Dhesi favorite was appointed Director (Marketing), in July 2012. Incidentally, Anand Trivedi – a B Com third class is the son of former Chief Election Commissioner of India and Governor of Gujarat R K Trivedi.  Likewise, Rajeev Jaideva against whom strictures were passed by the CBI for showing undue favors to NAADP without requisite securities was appointed Director (Personnel) flouting the PESB rules.

 All this is similar to the infamous promotion fraud in MMTC when Nripendra Mishra was Additional Secretary in charge of MMTC in 1996 when 18 DGMs were promoted to the post of GMs. It was way beyond the sanctioned strength of 31 GMs.

 MMTC reportedly paid crores of rupees to Economic Laws Practice “ELP” a Mumbai-based law firm connected with Desi’s daughter.

 COVER UP OPERATIONS:

 MMTC entered into a Long Term Agreement (LTA’) to purchase freshly mined and washed coking coal’ from Anglo on FOB (trimmed) basis from DBCT Gladstone in Australia. The agreement between MMTC and ANGLOCOAL ran into rough waters and the Arbitration Award was pronounced in May 2014 for alleged non-lifting of 453,034 MT of coking coal by MMTC and Anglo was entitled to recover damages from MMTC to the tune of 78 million US dollars (USD) with interest.

 MMTC challenged the Arbitration Award in Delhi High Court through former Union Law Minister P Chidambaram, but their Petition was dismissed. “For the aforementioned reasons, the Court finds no grounds having been made out by MMTC under Section 34 of the Act for interference with the impugned majority Award dated 12th May 2014. The petition is dismissed with costs of Rs. 1,00,000 which shall be paid by MMTC to Anglo within four weeks”, the Delhi High Court order by Justice S Murlidhar read.

 Dhesi allegedly suppressed the liability on MMTC of USD 78 million (Rs 500 crore) plus interest (as per the arbitration award) by not informing the Department of Commerce. Further instead of taking disciplinary action against the guilty officials a charge sheet was initiated against M. Thyagarajan (the then CGM) who was the whistleblower and the complainant to CBI in Chennai Gold Fraud Case (Rs 120 crores). Ironically one of the prosecution witnesses in the departmental inquiry against Thyagarajan, Gurumurthy then GM (F) was an accused in CBI’s Charge sheet in the Chennai Gold Fraud case.

 In what is a carefully guarded secret DS Dhesi, MG Gupta and Anand Trivedi flouted all norms to participate in speculative gambling at the Jignesh Shah-promoted National Spot Exchange Limited NSEL.

 Both MG Gupta and Anand Trivedi had close links with Jignesh Shah since the time they were CGMs (West Zone). MG Gupta even managed to get his son Vineet Gupta employed in NSEL. But instead of initiating disciplinary action against him, Dhesi sided with him to trade on NSEL platform.

 Following a circuitous route trading on NSEL was approved by MMTC’s Functional Management Committee of Directors (FMCOD) chaired by Dhesi without taking the approval of Board of Directors as required under the MMTC’s Delegation of powers (DOP). Accordingly GM (Precious Metals) N Balaji and GM (F&A) T Kumaran were asked to sign the application for NSEL membership on behalf of MMTC.

 Interestingly even at that initial stage CGM(Finance) Vijay Pal and GM (Finance), Surjeet Singh, objected to the high-risk trading at NSEL where warehouse receipts were not supported by physical stocks, but Dhesi overruled their objections in the 88th meeting of the Functional management committee of Directors held on 14 June 2013?

 The result was a whopping loss of Rs 250 crores due to speculative trading through NSEL. Money was advanced to private parties without any collateral security that was in violation of Delegation of Powers of MMTC. MMTC acknowledged a loss of Rs 226 in its quarterly results ending 30 June 2013 and Rs 25 crore on account of VAT.

Interestingly the associates of MMTC who acted as sellers were also the buyers for the same commodity that was sold to MMTC? Many of these buyers and sellers like Mohan India and Yathuri Associates were common to both NSEL and MMTC.

The Supreme Court in the State of Gujarat vs. Mohanlal Jitamalji Porwal and Anr. AIR 1987 SC 1321, observed, “The entire Community is aggrieved if the economic offenders who ruin the economy of the State are not brought to book.”

 Likewise in the Ram Narain Popli vs. CBI, 2003 (3) SCC 641, the Apex Court observed, “In the last few years, the country has seen an alarming rise in white-collar crimes which has affected the fiber of the country’s economic structure. These cases are nothing but private gain at the cost of the public, and lead to economic disaster.”

It’s a small wonder why India’s mega public-sector undertakings continue to make losses and bleed because of mis-Management and total lack of accountability from top to bottom in the leadership chain.

Right from the very beginning in 1963, MMTC has had a checkered history of misgovernance, nepotism, and corruption. Recently the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India passed strictures against MMTC financial mismanagement, possible fraud, negligence and absence of fiscal prudence. According to the CAG report tabled in the Parliament, MMTC suffered a loss of Rs 1.33 crore in a deal with Suchetan Export Pvt Ltd for the procurement of cotton waste. The CAG report expressed concern over losses suffered because of inadequate security and release of stock on the basis of PDCs (post dated cheques) in various deals.

This notwithstanding D.S. Dhesi a 1982-batch Haryana cadre, IAS lords over as the 32nd chief secretary of Haryana. Dhesi, who still has nearly four years of service left, took over from P.K. Gupta as Haryana chief secretary on Dec 1, 2014.

Economic development and vote bank politics

By Vijay Sanghvi

Sketching contemporary events in historical perspective always stirs a hornet’s nest-inviting strong reactions and powerful refutations. Self-interests tend to disbelieve historical interpretations of events because of their vested interest or stubborn disbelief.

The middle class is increasingly getting dissatisfied with the present regime that has failed to deliver the rapid economic growth that it promised to give them. But that’s a different story. The elite classes have always been the primary beneficiaries of any economic development anywhere in the world. They were confident that Prime Minister Narender Modi would protect their interest instead of allowing the bandwagon of different new entrants in the market.

India’s first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru adopted the Soviet model of economic development. It helped the public sector institutions to reach commanding heights and at the same time diminished the participation of private individuals except those who could manipulate the system. In a way, all his social welfare schemes virtually ended up throwing crumbs at some sections of the public – deprived or Dalits. Nehru had no idea about the poverty around him. It became apparent in 1963 when due to controversy over the Third Five Year Plan in the parliament, the government was compelled to define poverty line. But even this did no change the direction of the economic development and made the common man struggle for existence. The successive regimes followed the same model while trying to woo the so-called vote-banks.

For close to six decades a third of India’s population wallowed in poverty. The political leaders made it a point to mislead them. When things became appalling, pieces of free bread were thrown at them instead of the motivation to work and earn their bread. The whole political system was focussed on management of scarcity instead of creating surplus resources through rapid activation of more Indians. Those who were dependent on the government developed a herd mentality while the economically better off acted independently.

Even the Green revolution enriched the big farmers. About 12 percent of people controlling 80 agro products market and surpluses gave the impression that all the farmers in the farm sector gained from it. Plethora of restrictive legislations gave birth to corruption. The situation further deteriorated when people were denied their fundamental rights unless some palms were greased.

In 1992, Rao regime partially opened doors to enable a small section of the lower class to participate in economic activities. It helped some people move up on a higher rung of the social ladder with the support and backing of financial institutions. The growth rate tripled. The stranglehold of bureaucratic controls was loosened. A success of few Indians in other systems gave inspiration to many to follow their footsteps.

The Man Mohan Singh era relapsed into old conservative politics in the second tranche to push the economy to an unending slump for three years. As Sharad Pawar pointed out in his book ‘At my Terms’ the National Advisory Council had overtaken the structure to impose decisions that slowed down the economic growth. Considerable resources were diverted to creating vote banks. The charity was again the chief instrument for the elimination of poverty but making poor more dependent on crumbs than work and fight. Narendra Modi inherited the economy suffering from paralysis of decisions at the top level.

A debate will continue in present times over intentions of the Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his initiatives for correcting the deformities. However, he decisively chalked out a new path of inspiring everyone to fight their circumstance and end the era of free services. Everyone need to pay for the services received was his motto.

He chose to initiate ideas of long gestation nature, but his targets were clear. He deliberately chose the deprived and the Dalit to be the targets for improvement. They were denied not only socio-economic justice but also facilities to improve their abilities. The education system was devised not to assist them to rise above the secondary grades. He touched upon the sensitive issue of lack of skills that education did not impart. Without skills, they have no hopes of better life. He ignited lights of hope in their hearts by pointing out the enormous potential for them outside India as most aged countries have demanded skilled young hands to operate their machines as their citizens are unable to perform the task due to advanced age.

He introduced social and health security for them through his innovative schemes of opening bank accounts to ensure accident insurance. Never before, any regime thought of unorganized sector for the social security coverage. In 18 months, he offered microscopic except words of allurement to invite foreign capital to the middle class that craved for more benefits having voted for him. In the end, most families realized that not only they had nothing was given but their existence in the economic institutions was becoming intolerable. Their easy access to powers that are was not only closed on the pretext of ridding corruption from the system, but it also allowed overcrowding of more sharers of benefits.

This was a strange phenomenon as the middle class was the traditional vote bank of the party he heads in the government. He put them in a quandary from where they can not complain too much. His agenda, for the Lok Sabha election and also, later on, did not gel with the traditional class living on firm belief of the cultural supremacy of the class for ages. Was he deliberately ignoring them to replace them as his vote bank was the question in several minds but none ready to publicly air. The traditional thinking in the party was caught up between two twists. His agenda has achieved a miracle of a clear majority for the party under him. It came after two unsuccessful efforts to win over the masses. The Dalit and the deprived stayed out of its ambit and the minorities never even attempted to come closer. His agenda renders the old formula irrelevant.

The dilemma was reflected in the unseasonal eruption of incidents of communal tensions that ensured the defeat of his formula in the Bihar battle. The educated young among the deprived and the Dalit may have looked up to him with new hope but were terrified of losing what they had gained so far by voting the upper class to power. NaMo suffered more from internal confusion than from his opponents on the other side. NaMo had to bid for time to get the courage to challenge his internal detractors. Thus, the year 2016 became a decisive factor in his career.

His opponents would not accept that he has outsmarted them all. He laid the foundations for the end of the upper-class domination of Indian Affairs to pave a way for other classes to take over as was predicted by Dr. Ram Manohar Lohia in 1966. If you cannot defeat them join them and lick them was the strategy apparent in his achievement.

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W300AP is 2.4GHz 300M ceiling design Access Point. It works with Access Controller CW500/CW1000 to provide the wireless solution for hotels, resorts, office buildings, campus and other environments. Adopt of ceiling design, W300AP can be mounted on the ceiling and wall inconspicuous. Compliant with PoE 802.3af, it can be deployed in areas where power outlets are scarce or not available through PoE switch

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