Prime Minister bats for bureaucrats during Lokpal debate; refers to honest mistakes

Dr Manmohan Singh on May 22, 2004, the first day in office

INDIA'S Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has bated in favour of bureaucrats while admitting that bureaucracy has been at the receiving end from the time the debate on anti-corruption ombudsman Lokpal began. “I don’t think all public functionaries need to be painted with the same brush just as all politicians should not be presumed to be corrupt,” said Singh while taking part in the Lokpal debate in Lower House of Parliament, Lok Sabha.

He has also termed the current environment as “environment of distrust”. “While I agree that public functionaries must be above board and that delinquents must be dealt with expeditiously and decisively, I must express my deep appreciation for many a public servant who have shown exemplary integrity in discharging their functions in an environment of distrust,” said Singh.

Also, PM talked about the need to distinguish “honest mistakes” that could have been committed by bureaucrats from patently illegal acts. In fact, chief vigilance commissioner Pradeep Kumar has been saying from the day 1 of his assuming office as CVC that he would make a distinction between corrupt officials and those who might have committed honest mistakes.

“Very often our public servants have to take decisions under conditions of uncertainty. The future being inherently uncertain, it is possible that an action which ex ante appears to be rational may ex post turn out to be faulty. Our systems of reward and punishment must not lose sight of this fact,” Singh said in the Parliament debate.

For the record, Prime Minister Singh remained a bureaucrat for 20 years till he was made India’s finance minister in 1991. Singh has been India’s Prime Minister for the last seven and half years now.

Action and Appointments

a) Rita Menon, a 1975 batch UP cadre IAS and currently textile secretary, has been appointed as chairman and MD of India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO) for a period of two years.

b) PK Basu, a 1976 batch Bihar cadre IAS and secretary in the department of agriculture and cooperation, will hold additional charge of the post of secretary, animal husbandry, dairying and fisheries during absence on leave of Rudra Gangadharan, a 1975 batch Kerala cadre IAS from December 23, 2011 to January 8, 2012

c) Ajay Chadha, a 1977 batch AGMU cadre IPS, has been appointed as special secretary (internal security) in the ministry of home affairs.

d) Chandra Bhushan Paliwal, a 1981 batch UP cadre IAS and presently chief vigilance officer of Steel Authority of India Limited, has been appointed as MD of National Cooperative Development Corporation under the department of agriculture in the rank and pay of additional secretary in place of Govindan Nair, a 1978 batch UP cadre IAS who has retired.