reports that are still unofficial, as the name will formally be announced after President Pranab Mukherjee returns from his foreign tour later this week and gives his assent to the recommendation.
After the meeting, Kharge told reporters that the meeting was confidential but added that the panels (there were two panels, one each for CVC and CIC) sent the recommendations to President’s office. The name of Vijai Sharma, the senior-most information commissioner, was reportedly recommended as the new chief information commissioner (CIC).
And if the initial reports are correct, the post of CVC, traditionally held by a retired IAS officer, will now go to a retired IRS officer. The power of the CVC can be gauged by the wide mandate he enjoys under which the CVC can probe corruption cases of any government official, be it a peon or the cabinet secretary. Also, the CVC has a say on the appointment of the CBI director, thereby making the post all the more important. After the Supreme Court judgement on PJ Thomas case, the post of CVC is no longer restricted to a retired or serving civil servant, and a private citizen can also be a contender to the post.
Chowdary joined IRS in 1978 and moved up in the ladder to become chairman of the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT), the highest decision-making body on I-T policy. In CBDT, he was first Member (Audit and Judicial) before taking charge of investigations.
Earlier, during his tenure as Director General (Investigations) in Delhi, he got a chance to head high-profile I-T probes like that of 2G spectrum allocation case and the HSBC Geneva taxpayers list.
That Chowdary is highly valued by the present government can be gauged by the fact that soon after his retirement as the CBDT chief, he was appointed as an Advisor to the Special Investigation Team (SIT) that was probing black money cases.
Chowdary has a post-graduate degree in mathematics from Indian Institute of Technology, Chennai.
Do write your comment whether a former IRS officer with experiences in investigations will necessarily be a better CVC than an IAS?
I have worked under Mr. Chowdhry, I know him as an Honest, extremely extremely intellingent, hardworking person. He is an excellent manager, who keeps the morale of his team high, through supporting them. He does not tolerate, lethargy and medicracy. Iwish him all thebest. As far as the debate as to whether the post should go to an IAS or non IAS, let the best person be appointed for any job, be it a Chaiwala or a PHD holder be him from IAS or from private sector.
ReplyDeleteAnand kedia
Shri. K. V. Chowdary is an excellent choice as a CVC. I worked under as Deputy Director (Investigation) when he was Member (Investigation) and later Chairman of CBDT. He is extremely honest, works for atleast 15 hours a day, his energy at this age rivals that of a young civil servant, he has a very strong personality, he doesn't bow to undue pressures, very intelligent and fully committed to any job he does. I am happy that for the first time merit gave way to hegemony in appointment of a CVC. This will augur well for the country. As for the suitability, an IRS or an IPS are best suited to be a CVC or a VC. IAS are definitely one of the least suitable people to be in the CVC. Having said that, I always wish the best person occupies the post be it an IRS or IPS or IAS or any other Civil Servant. As for private sector, I am of the view that only people who have worked in public sector are more suitable as the CVC has mandate of controlling corruption in Government. They will understand the nuances well. Their experience will come in very handy. People from private sector should be preferred only if they have some experience of working in public sector or are closely associated with it. And if we find a candidate like N. R. Narayana Murthy we should ofcourse prefer him over any civil servant for his sheer commitment and integrity. Retired officers of Armed Forces should also be considered. Anyway debates are unending on the issue of suitability. Hearty congratulations to my former superboss. I am fully confident that one will see a CVC that can be compared to the Election Commission under T. N. Seshan. Fraudsters beware. Tiger will be on prowl now. One can also expect lot of systemic changes in the working of CVC from now on. The earlier syndrome of 'you scratch my back I will scratch yours' being followed by a Service lobby will hopefully end. We can also expect the pending files for action will start moving in CVC. One look at the website will reveal the cases pending for decision before various Ministries/Departments even after recommendation of action by CVC. And not surprisingly most of these files belong to officers of a single Service. Now that patronage which is affecting the country's governance will end. A 4-year tenure as CVC to Shri. K.V.Chowdary will work wonders for the country. Best of luck in your new assignment and god speed sir. The country has lot of hopes from you.
ReplyDeleteThe IAS lobby will not be pleased with the appointment of an IRS officer to the post of CVC. Having said that the NaMo government doesn't seem to think much of the CVC post having kept it vacant for 9 months. What really matters is competency/honesty and the ability to soak up pressure from the political masters for a post like CVC whether it be an IAS or IPS or IRS. The appointment of Shri KV Chowdhary is not without its fair share of controversies. His frequent meetings with ex-CBI chief Ranjit Sinha in what could be with reference to the mother of all scams "2G" has already raised a few eyebrows with Prashant Bhushan objecting to his appointment. I am not sure if Shri Chowdary is the best choice for CVC. Request the PMO and govt. to rethink this appointment.
ReplyDeleteLet non IAS people govern the Nation for atleast 3 years having given chance to IAS for 67 years.
ReplyDeleteIts a good decision by Modi Govt., as both the IAS and IRS are clearing the same civil services exam...then why discrimination and why the IAS officers should put in every office as incharge....Are the IAS officers Master of all issues ??????
ReplyDeleteAs long as the CVOs,the extended arms are made independant of the PSU's for their salary &oher pays,leave and APRs the present set up of CVC is of no use.The decision maker is still the CMDs.
ReplyDeleteI meant "as long as CVO s are not independant of the PSU s ................."
ReplyDeleteAppointment of KV Choudhry ,former CBDT Chief, to the coveted post of CVC is reportedly beset with controversy.
ReplyDeleteReminiscent of P J Thomas whose appointment was cancelled by Supreme court on charges of corruption in UPA - II era.The then LOP (LS) Sushma Swaraj had given a dissenting note.
Selected as consensus candidate by the panel headed by PM with HM and LOP (LS) as members. Absence of dissent, also raises suspicion.
Allegations of clouded credentials against Chaudhry ,are disturbing,
more so, when these are made by Prashant Bhushan.
One hopes, the allegations were investigated by Modi sarkar before issuing orders.
If lessons are not learnt from history, it is bound to repeat itself.
Do not forget,in absence of Lok Pal, the CVC is the sole watchdog against corruption
SAAVDHAAN INDIA.
A K SAXENA (A retd civil servant)
Mr A K Saxena I always respected your views and write-ups and enjoyed most of them. But this post of yours is an absolute nominder. Mr. KV Chowdary is a very honest and efficient officer. I worked under him. Prashant Bhushan is playing nonsense here. Mr. Chowdary has impeccable record in IRS. Prashant Bhushan is definitely being fed with wrong data by you know well who. You are also jumping into this nonsense with your unnecessary caution. If we miss Mr. Chowdary we will definitely get somebody who is less eligible than him. The man suits the job of CVC perfectly. There is not even an iota of truth in the allegations of Prashant Bhushan. They are absolutely baseless. There has never been a tinge on Mr. Chowdary. I request you to please check your facts before throwing dirt on somebody. I sincerely wish you don't loose your credibility and go Prashant Bhushan way.
ReplyDeleteI RESPECT YOUR OPINION, SATYA PRASHANT P,SIR
DeleteA K SAXENA (A retd civil servant)
That is the perspective a civil servant should have. Learn how to respect others from Mr. Saxena. You have without any regard to his seniority called him by name. Even though he worked in much senior positions, he addressed you as Sir. This speaks a lot about him as well as you Mr. Satya. Would you address your IRS boss by name after his retirement ??
DeleteDear anonymous sir,
DeleteIt's clear where you are getting at. I pity you. As for the respect that I give to seniors, Saxena sir knows well. I did not meet him but we have mutual respect for each other over the social media, which you are not preview to or aware of. Coming to the use of language, I said Mr. Saxena, which is not disrespectful. That's the way we address anybody senior to us. We address any senior as sir when we know him very well. Now ofcourse i address Saxena sir as sir as I know him well now. This is February, 2016 not June 2015 when i replied to him in above post. As for his reply to me where he addressed me as sir. This was definitely unnecessary. Its shows his humility or at that time he may not be knowing me or my seniority. As for your comment about me, I definitely don't disrespect anybody, let alone senior officers. Even i respect you without even knowing who you are. I can only guess to what service you belong to. However, it doesn't matter. But i accept one thing with you. Saxena sir worked in senior positions in the GOI and earned good name for himself. Post retirement he continued doing good work. All of us who know him respect him for his contribution to the country. I only request people like this anonymous person to fight honourably but don't hit below the belt. That only indicates you lost even before you started. Best of luck dear anonymous.
To respect anyone, do we have to know them very well ?
DeletePlease explain Satya Sir
Whether it is Mr X,or Mr Y the et up of CVC itself is proven to be a failure.It is only a silent spectator in the total show y corrupt chief executives.CVC has no powers to controls these babus.If any body has any doubt just look in to the current status of vigilance set ups in all the Central PSUs in South India.Find out how many have CVOs .Inordinate delay in the appointment of CVOs ,inaction on the reports if at all sent by CVO .Then why for this set ups .X or Y it Doesnt matter.
ReplyDeleteWhy so individual centric about an appointment like CVC. Let there not be hype about any one. In our system some individuals excel. Nobody bothers about strengthening the system. If systems are in place there will not be any individual adulation. God bless the new CVC. Good luck to you sir.
ReplyDeleteYes exactly,Prior to Shri T.N Seshan Election Commission was also a silent spectator .even after a number of dilutions applied by the Executive Election commission is still in control.Similarly India is waiting for a real 'Vigilance Commissioner' diffrent from the those 'passed time there'. Of course Shri Vittal was an exception.. Hope for the best .all best wishes sir
ReplyDeleteIt is a signal for the IAS lobby. If they don't improve their approach towards encroachment then govt can dictate them by any means
ReplyDeleteCVC now is only a paper tiger.Unless the CVO s are given adequate support by CVC in weeding out corruption at the highest level of PSU s (CMD,Directors) there is no point in continuing the set up of CVC and CVO s .Even if CVO recommends action agaisnt officers ,the top management protects them without taking any action. Even if these things are regularly reported to CVC it is of use.Vigilance officers in the present set up are left alone to face wrath from corrupt CMDs /Directors.Though CVO s are called as extended arm of CVC ,they get no support from the CVC in such issues.It is seen that the reports sent by CVOs are simply filed by some clerks in the CVC and not seen by anybody wort his salt.
ReplyDeleteThe new CVC before going in to the corruption elsewhere,let him go in to misdeeds of his organisation which weakened the vigilance set up across the country and supported the corrupt managements for reasons not known. AIIMS,MCI,MFL ltd. Cochin shipyard,FACT,Cochin port trust are few examples.
ReplyDelete