[HumJanenge] DoPT's corruption and HARAMIs exposed.

Dear Friends

As we know RTI is under threat from all sides. but most importantly it
is under threat from within. Certain HARAMIS (and I think this is the
only word to describe them) have engineered a situation, so that RTI
Act will be

a) rendered ineffective
b) information will only be given to the chamchas of these haramis
c) Netas, judges, babus and PPPs will escape from having to disclose
information.

At the recent RTI Convention, I met so many of you, and I assure you
that this group will continue our struggle to completely expose the
persons and parties who are out to scuttle RTI. And, that we shall do
this without fear or favour. Especially now we are faced with the
unacceptable choices of either putting up with these corrupt and
pliable babus as ICs OR being eaten up raw (translated from Hindi) by
retired judges as ICs.

Therefore kindly read this email (and my subsequent ones on this topic) fully.

One of the person I met at the Convention was Cmdr (Retd) I.N. Lokesh
Batra. Let me say that he has done outstanding work in RTI as a
private citizen. Unfortunately, some of us try to keep our feet in too
many stools and RTI camps. My friend Lokesh has however been used by
Ms. Aruna Roy to scuttle the amendments in RTI Rules. He has also
forgotten what he wrote to the DoPT in 2010 when we discussed this at
the Convention..

It is therefore important to get our history and timeline clear so that

A) We know exactly what happened
B) Ensure it does not happen again.
C) To identify the HARAMIs (I am not implying that Lokesh is a
harami, I feel he, like so many other innocents, has been used)

FACTS:

1) DoPT issues a small OM tucked away on their website on 10.12.2010
calling for comments on draft RTI Amendment Rules within 14 days. It
is clear that this OM is a legal fiction to allow NAC/NCPRI/Aruna Roy
gang to submit their comments. Citizens, however, are alert, and this
group (ie. HJ-GG) files over 275 comments some of them very detailed.
Some of our comments/suggestions are not obvious at first glance and
in fact seem anti-RTI / anti-citizen. All our comments from this group
are filed within time. Curiously and importantly, the Secretary of
NAC, Smt Rita Sharma also sends an email in her private capacity to
DoPT endorsing our comments. The NAC is not able to file in time. In
fact 2 days before the final date they organise a "pre-consultative"
meeting, where Wajahat Habibullah, Shekhar Singh, Dunu Roy, Lokesh
Batra, Venkatesh Nayak(CHRI) etc are present and they cobble together
a confused Power Point Presentation which they email to Mr.
R.K.Girdhar seeking more time.(Interestingly CHRI's own detailed
comments in 25+ pages which are ready to shoot are objected to by Mr.
Shekhar Singh and Dunu Roy) I email Mr. R.K.Girdhar saying that the
time is over, no new comments may be entertained, and that if we could
file our detailed comments in time so should other people.

http://righttoinformation.info/campaign-for-transparency-in-the-pre-legislative-process/

2) Instead Aruna Roy instigates Comdr Lokesh Batra to get out our
comments OFFICIALLY from the DoPT. They are especially interested in
getting the email which Dr.Rita Sharma sent. Accordingly on
29.01.2010, after the date is over, he files an RTI to DoPT as
follows.

"c) Please provide me list of file/files with reference number(s) on
which the comments received in response to said DoPT's OM of 10
Dec2010, are being processed.
:
(e) I would also like to inspect all the files concerned with the said
issue including the one where the requirement of amending RTI Rules
was triggered and processed and consequently said DoPT OM of 10 Dec
2010 issued. At that stage, I will take attested copies of the
relevant documents and notings in the file(s) as required. Please
inform the date and time for the inspection of the files."

(NB: At the Convention, Lokesh again insisted to me that he had not
asked to see or take copies from the file containing the comments
received. I don't know how he can say this in view of his own widely
circulated email which is also archived on HJ-YG)

3) Since Lokesh, thankfully, had placed his RTI in public domain, I
promptly on the same day emailed R.K.Girdhar (PIO DoPT) and also spoke
to him saying I was a third party and the comments should not be
disclosed to Lokesh or to anybody else. I came to learn that around
24.Jan.2011 K.G.Verma photocopied the entire set of comments received
from public along with the file notings (in pencil) and handed it over
to Ms. Aruna Roy. I promptly sent an email to his boss Mr. Rajeev
Kapoor on 27.01.2011 (in his capacity as Public Grievance Director)
stating inter-alia as follows

"I am especially concerned that whereas the Ministry has formulated
detailed comments and analysis to other persons who responded to the
said notices/OMs, all my hard work has been corruptly ignored and/or
malafidely destroyed merely because I once reported an Official
Secrets Act breach by a Director of the Ministry. Its pertinent that
unlike other persons I have not received the comments and analysis of
my own comments/objections/suggestions to the aforesaid public
notices, I say this is discriminatory."

Note, I am clearly saying on 27.JANUARY.2011 that the comments (and
especially mine) to the OM on draft RTI Rules have been malafidely
destroyed because I complained in OSA against the Director
(K.G.Verma), and also that other person have received copies of my
comments and objections and the analysis thereon.

4) Rajeev Kapoor knows how to cover his ass, and on 2.Feb.2011
R.K.Girdhar sends a letter to Lokesh saying that he may come and take
inspection of all files and take copies against payment, on
18.Feb.2011 at 2.30 PM. It is pertinent that Mr Girdhar had previously
declined to disclose any information whatsoever as the process was
underway (hence no 3rd party notice), but he was later "directed to"
invite Lokesh for inspection and be provided xerox copies of the
comments received along with the file notings thereon (and based on
which NAC would make their own recommendations)..
(BTW all this is independently confirmed by emails Lokesh has himself
circulated on HJ-YG)

5) Accordingly , I immediately again shoot off emails to everyone in
DoPT cautioning them that disclosing the files would be hammered by me
in Official Secrets Act and Prevention of Corruption Act.) I also now
personally met Girdhar, and Rajeev Kapoor (JS/DoPt) in this
connection.

6) Now here is where my version and Lokesh's version diverge.
a) I say that Lokesh was shown all the files in K.G.Verma's office and
provided ATTESTED copies on the spot UNOFFICIALLY which the NAC would
use.
b) Lokesh says that the files were never shown to him and he got no
copies especially attested copies and K.G.Verma gave him the run
around.

7) What we both agree on is that the files / folders containing the
public comments and the detailed notings of consideration thereon went
missing. I say this was done so that K.G.Verma (a deeply corrupt
officer) could prepare a table for NAC to show that public was against
the 250 word rule. In fact 70% of the comments received were in favour
of 250 word rule and most like us wanted it reduced to 150 words (Yes
I know that this "seems" that we are anti-RTI - but we already had
advance information of the 500 word deal which Mahabitch Aruna Roy had
struck with DoPT long back). In fact the draft RTI Amendment Rules
were not even drafted by DoPT but were drafted by Shailesh Gandhi and
Centre for Good Governance (both bodies influenced by Mahabitch) and
sent to DoPT by the Central Information Commission.

8) What we know (and I stand liable to be corrected) is that Lokesh
Batra apparently did not file any appeals concerning denial of
information to him when he went for inspection. Which is why I stick
to my version of what transpired.

9) Anyway, on 25.03.2011, I file an incredibly detailed public
Grievance bearing no. "DOPAT/E/2011/00112" on the pgportal, and
Girdhar on 05.04.2011 promptly states as follows.

"None of Your suggestions on amendment to RTI Rules have been divulged
by this division under RTI or otherwise"

10) Very easy for him to say this since the "folder" has gone missing.
But that does not answer how the Mahabitch has a private copy of the
comments and notings thereon.

11) After, having engineered that all the public comments went
missing.K.G.Verma prepares a table for the NAC (which is completely at
variance with the comments received) and the Mahabitch gets her pet
poodle #3 (some retired Justice Shah) to issue legal opinion to DoPT,
whereupon NAC recommends that 250 word should be instead made 500
words "ordinarily".

12) And mark my words, the day these ex-judges become ICs and CICs
their registry will have word counting software to ensure that
ORDINARILY the RTIs must be within 500 words or all appeals will be
rejected.

So like our Law Minister, I will rest here today to show how Aruna Roy
and NAC a) engineered the disappearance of the files from DoPT, b)
Compromised a pliable officer Mr. K.G.Verma who was getting passed
over for promotion c) got 4 months extra to make their recommendations
after complete knowledge of the objections submitted by the public d)
got "public" meetings arranged between DoPT and their hand-picked
activists - all from under Sonia's rainbow colored NAC petticoats e)
Got the "ordinarily" 500 word RTI Rule put in place.

These are the classic methods of a tout and the Mahabitch is most
definitely one.

Tomorrow I will post how Mahabitch ensured that Shailesh Gandhi was made an IC.