The police officer who reinstated Sachin Waze performed a cowardly duty: Says former Delhi Police Commissioner T R Kakkar

 The police officer who reinstated Sachin Waze performed a cowardly duty: Says former Delhi Police Commissioner T R Kakkar

Former Delhi Police Commissioner T R Kakkar (1964 Batch AGMUT cadre IPS) is known for being outspoken. He was the first former Delhi Police Commissioner who hit at the then Delhi Police chief A K Patnaik for his 'inapt' handing of East Delhi communal riots during US President Donald Trump’s visit in February last year. He surprised many in the police circle when he said “The image of the police has taken a beating in the eyes of the world, as all bad things happened in the capital when the US President was on a state visit”.

Kakkar had taken over as Delhi Police Commissioner (April 1997) when the moral of Delhi Police was at its lowest due to Connaught Place shoot out in which an innocent businessman was killed by a Delhi Police Crime Branch team. He not only build up confidence of the demoralized Police force, but also brought back glory of the Force. His team solved the 1997 mysterious serial Delhi blasts, which even central Intelligence agencies and CBI were unable to crack. The hi-tech cyber investigation technique that was adopted by Delhi Police was later adopted by US intelligence agencies in solving 9/11 US attack and later in tracing Osama Bin Laden. In fact, He is probably the only Delhi Police Commissioner, who as an army officer fought Indo-Pak war before joining Indian Police Services. He also headed country’s premier security agency--National Security Guard (NSG). After leaving Delhi Police, he joined the Union Home Ministry as Special Secretary (Internal Security), Government of India. T R Kakkar spoke to Vijay Thakur, Special Representative, The Statesman, on the recent exposure of Police-politicians nexus in Mumbai. Excerpts:

 

 

Question:

The Police-politician nexus in states is an open secret. In states, normally there is a tacit-understanding between the police officials and local state leaders. However the recent exposure and allegations made by a former Mumbai Police Commissioner Param Bir Singh is very disturbing. What is your take on this ?

 

Answer:

It is a fact that a sort of nexus has developed between police and local politicians. It started taking a serious turn nearly a decade ago.  Normally politicians have to get lot of things done by police to carry on with their business of politics or to stay in politics. They use police to stay in politics. It is obvious that the police officers, who were used by politicians, got some favours in return. In other words, police officers who did some illegal or dirty jobs for politicians become emboldened and started indulging in all sort of corruption due to their political patronage. They took politicians for granted.

Over the period of time, politicians also started misusing police to extort money through various kind of loot and illegal activities. Here, I must say all police officers are not like that. However, a majority of the police officers posted in prime positions became a party to such illegal and unauthorized loot.

Mumbai, being a financial capital has more opportunities to extort from Bollywood, hotels, dance bars, smugglers and from those who are indulging in other nefarious activities.

 

Question:

But is it not strange that a former Police Commissioner labeling allegations against a Home Minister?

 

Answer:

It is really unheard of that an officer of a disciplined force accuse state Home Minister. I will not go into the marit of the case as NIA is investigating it and must be probing all aspects. Now lets pray that the Mumbai High Court orders a CBI inquiry into the allegations made by the former Police Commissioner.

 

Question:

The former commissioner also claimed that Assistant Inspector Sachin Waze was taking instructions directly from the Home Minister. Will it not demolish the existing protocol and policing system?

In a police force there is a strict hierarchy. An inspector level officer reports to Assistant Commissioner or at the most Deputy Commissioner rank officer. A Police Commissioner is too big for him. In fact, an inspector hardly gets a chance to interact with a Police Commissioner during his entire service. An inspector interacting with state Home Minister is unheard of. This is really strange and reveals how deep politicians have penetrated into police system to meet their personal desires. Waze must have been in touch with the Home Minister with or without the knowledge of Police commissioner to do all sort of dirty jobs—from collecting and extorting money to his political masters. I will not go into detail.

 

Question:

Going by the previous service record of Waze, you think he deserve such a sensitive posting in Police Headquarters ?

 

Answer:

This is surprising and very serious. How come a person, who had serious cases pending against him and, was suspended for around 16 years, suddenly got reinstated on some flimsy ground of staff shortage? Further within days of his reinstatement, he got the most sensitive posting. What the top brass of Mumbai Police was doing?

I have no hesitation in saying that the police officer who reinstated Sachin Waze performed a cowardly duty. He did disservice to police and to the state. If for a while, I presume that Police was under political pressure to reinstate Waze, Police Commissioner could have transferred him to some non-sensative posting

 

Question:

Former Mumbai Police Commissioner claimed he was not aware of the situation and came to know about it later.

Answer

It is a joke. As I said he does not deserve to be on the chair. If he was ignorant about it than he was incompetent or otherwise he was party to the crime. Only a fool will believe that an officer of Commissioner stature could be so dumbo. A Police Commissioner gets regular information about the conduct of his subordinate officers through an inbuilt mechanism within in the system.

 

And still if Police Commissioner claims he did not know what is happening than he was not worth his salt. I would avoid to use any strong adjective against the then Mumbai Police Commissioner (Param Bir Singh), but he certainly does not deserve to hold Commissioner’s chair.

If my subordinate is regularly interacting with the Home Minister, I would have taken strict disciplinary actions against him and would have dismissed him from services under section 311 (2) (b). I have used this provision several times against my subordinate whom I found unfit to be in a force.

 

Question:

 

All these allegations has given a very bad name to the force. How can we prevent such incidents in future?

 

Answer:

 

There will always a black ship in every system. To prevent future repetition, the solution is simple, follow the SC guidelines in transfer and posting. The Supreme Court has issued guidelines on transfer and posting of senior rank police officers. The guideline says there should be a committee to appoint senior rank police officers from a panel of three incumbent.  If it is followed in letter and spirit, we might not see officers like Param Bir Singh and Sachin Waze getting sensitive postings.

The present nexus might not have come to limelight had NIA not taken up the Antilia bomb scare case. It was only after the NIA started investigation in the case that they traced and arrested Waze. But NIA mandate is to look into terror angle. In case CBI takes up probe to investigate the allegations of former Police Commissioner, we will hear more shocking and interesting tales of Mumbai Police.

 

Ends.

it is not possible to bring petroleum products under GST except gas: R S Sharma, former ONGC Chairman

 R S Sharma, former Chairman and Managing Director of ONGC, has over four decades of experience in Banking, Finance, and Treasury in India and abroad. Though primarily a banker, he joined ONGC in 1988 and handled various key areas of his expertise including Financial Management. In 2006 he was appointed as the Chairman and Managing Director of ONGC—leading upstream Navaratna Company engaged in oil production and exploration business in India and abroad to ensure energy security.

He started his career in the Union Bank of India in 1972 and specialized in Credit Appraisal and rose to middle-level management rank. He is also a fellow member of the Institute of Cost Accountant of India and an associate member of the Indian Institute of Bankers (CAIIB). R S Sharma has attended various management programs in India and overseas more specific to Oil and Gas Industry and Management Strategies. He was appointed as Director - Finance of ONGC in 2002 and has also headed the additional position of Director - Finance of ONGC Videsh Limited before he headed the ONGC in 2006.

Besides, he had been a member of various Committees like Search Committee for Selection of Chairman & Members of Competition Commission of India, Chairperson of Quality Review Board, Institute of Cost Accountants of India, and Chairperson of the expert committee constituted by MCA to examine issues relating to maintenance of Cost Records & Cost Audit. R S Sharma spoke to Vijay Thakur, Special Representative, The Statesman, on the volatility in the oil sector, its challenges, and future. Excerpts

 

Question

The oil sector world over appears to be volatile and is facing tough challenges particularly in wake of Covid-19 pandemic. How do you see the future of the oil and gas sector in India?

Answer

The oil Sector has been like this only. I have seen much volatility when crude oil was hovering at over USD 100 a barrel. Life goes on and I am not concerned over the recent volatility. The unprecedented situation we faced in wake of Covid-19 seems to be over and the entire world is returning back to normalcy except a few countries in the West.

India and China are two high oil-consuming nations. In 2020, oil demand in China has gone up by 7%. The situation in India has also improved. Another country where oil demand is high is USA, here also COVID-19, the industry in the United States is also doing well.

So I see no worry for the Oil Sector, we are finding new oil reserves. In India, work is in progress for 50 Million Tones West Coast Refinery. I can foresee that the oil industry would continue to prosper for at least another 20-30 years. There was some fear a decade ago that oil demand would surpass its production, but now we do not see this happen in the near foreseeable future.

Global Oil demand was at its peak in 2019, almost 100 million Barrels a day. In 2020, it went down by 10 % apparently due to COVID 19. But I am sure Oil demand would never touch 2019 oil demand.

Question

Why do you think oil demand would not touch the 2019 level again. Vehicles world over is increasing so is its demand.

Answer:

There are many reasons for it. One new alternative source of energy is coming up, two there is more emphasis on gas consumption. Certainly, the oil demand would increase marginally but not like what we see in 2019.

And there is one good comfort for a country like India, we may not see any major hike in crude oil prices. It might not cross USD 100 a barrel again in the coming 20-30 years. There would not be any supply problem in the coming years, the US has already become the largest producer of crude oil, and new discoveries in the middle-east are also coming up. Lastly, as I said oil demand would not be going to be very high. Though OPEC tried to artificially reduce crude oil production, it hardly had any impact.

Question

The government has increased its target for strategic crude oil reserves. You think it is enough for a country like India where nearly 70 % of our crude oil demand is met through imported oil?

Answer

Presently we have 11-12 days strategic reserve, which we are doubling. It is a good step but not enough especially when we have to depend upon imported oil. Let's look at China, it has a strategic reserve for 90 days, which they are increasing further. China took advantage of the crude oil drop last year and stacked up their reserves at a very low price. India too has an ambitious plan to increase strategic reverses to 90 days but that will take a long time.

Question

India as a whole has been benefited in the recent past due to a drop in crude oil prices in the International market. But the benefit has not been passed on to consumers. They are paying higher than what they were paying when the crude oil price was USD 120 barrel a day in the international market. You think this is the right policy not to pass on the benefit of crude oil drop to end consumers?

Answer

The oil sector is the highest and easiest way to generate revenue for the Centre as well as State governments. No government irrespective of its political affiliation would like to lose this opportunity. The only reason why petroleum products were kept out of GST was to generate revenues for states as well as for the central government. When they are collecting around 60 % tax on petroleum products, why will they opt for 28 % tax through GST?

Petroleum products would continue to generate the largest revenue for governments. We are facing an unprecedented situation in the wake Covid-19 pandemic. At a time when government revenues have reduced drastically, tax on petroleum products is the easiest way to generate revenue.

Due to the pandemic, the government has little options to generate revenue. It also needs to spend money to revive the economy and help people. In the present circumstance, I do not think the government has the luxury to reduce tax on petroleum products. Further, no government would think of bringing petroleum products under GST in near future.

In future, it may try to bring it under GST by adding a new slab of 40 to 50 % through GST council and by amending the existing GST Act. But GST on Petrol and Diesel at 28 % is unthinkable. However, fuel Gas can be brought under GST at the existing 28 %. Union Petroleum Ministry has already recommended twice to the Finance Ministry to bring Gas under GST, but Finance Ministry has turned it down for obvious reasons. Still, we hope the government would bring gas at 28 % GST. However, GST on Petrol and Diesel at 28 % is just unthinkable.

Question

The Government of India is targeting electric vehicles, you think it will impact the Indian oil industry?

Answer

This is a correct policy. But still, the growth of the electric vehicles (EV) sector is very slow. Presently Internal combustion (IC) engine numbers are so high that EVs (Electrical Vehicles) cannot even meet the incremental demands of IC engines. I am of the view that demand for IC engines would continue to rise and petrol and diesel vehicles ruling the road for another 20-30 years until some transformational change happens.

There are several issues with the growth of EVs. For EVs we need Cobalt, Lithium, Nickel and Cadmium, which is in short supply globally. It is not easy to meet the global demands of batteries for EVs. Then there are serious environmental concerns with batteries. Though EVs do not emit any pollutants, disposing of batteries of electrical vehicles is a serious concern and battery vehicles are no a 100% solution for the pollution.

India might be able to meet the incremental demands of vehicles through EVs by 2030. But right now it is hard to predict. Technology makes things happen which were difficult to imagine 10 years ago. Let’s hope we will find some new technology for electric vehicles which is easily available, more economical and environmentally friendly.

Question:

India is a developing country. For a country like India, going for a private four-wheel electrical vehicle may not be economical. You think instead of private EV cars, the government should rather stress on promoting short-range commercial electric vehicles like e-rickshaw and two wheelers, which is value for money and economical.

Answer:

You are right. EVs are valued for money for two-wheelers, and short range commercial vehicles. For long-range vehicles, whether it is a bus or it is private cars, EVs cannot replace the internal combustion engine in the coming years. Certainly, the government must encourage short range commercial EVs and EV two wheelers. E Rickshaw is an example despite any major support from the government, EV rickshaws have already revolutionized the market.

Though I am a bitter critic of Arvind Kejriwal, he has taken very courageous steps and came out with an encouraging EV policy. He announced no-registration charges for electric vehicles in Delhi, other states should follow the same.

Ends.

Fiscal Deficit Should not Bother US, says ASSOCHAM President Vineet Agarwal, 

Vineet Agarwal, the 40^th President of the Indian Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry (ASSOCHAM), is one of the young businessmen who has given a new direction to the country’s industrial transportation sector. A graduate from USA’s leading Carnegie Mellon University, Vineet completed the 'Owner President Management program' (OPM) from Harvard Business School. He is also the founding National President of the Young Leaders Council (YLC) at the All India Management Association (AIMA).

Besides heading the Transport Corporation of India, he had also been associated with various International Institutes and Industry forums including the Director of the Young President Organization (YPO). As Managing Director of the TCI, he transformed the organization towards value-added services in the area of supply chain management and multimodal logistics. He Spoke to Vijay Thakur, Special Representative, The Statesman on Industry’s expectation from the government in wake of Covid-19 Pandemic and what short and long term measures the government should take to bring the Indian Economy back on the track.

Excerpts

 

Question:

The entire world is passing through a very tough phase in the wake of Covid-19 pandemic. India too has been hit badly because of the pandemic. The government is going to present its first Union Budget after the pandemic. What are the Industry's expectations from the Modi Government?

Answer

 Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman is going to present the the21-22 Budget under extraordinary circumstances. The entire world is passing through once in a hundred year kind of crisis. Even the most developed economies are grappling with the human and economic costs of the global health emergency.

We have proved many experts from the Western world wrong, who were projecting that India would take a long time to recover from the pandemic. But in fact, we recovered very fast and are now stressing about the future.

And a part of the credit goes to the immediate steps taken by the government including fiscal incentive to the industry and by giving support to common people by giving foodgrains. Coming to budget, the entire industry expects that the Modi government would take a bold step to put the economic recovery in the next gear.

I am of the view that Union Government should remain at the forefront of the Expense Budget with increased investment in infrastructure mainly road building, rural infrastructure, and a special focus on the healthcare sector in public as well as the private sector. The healthcare sector across the entire value chain, both in the public and private sectors. Any money spent on infrastructure will show three times its effect on ground zero.

It is obvious that the fiscal deficit is going to shoot up. But this is no time to think about the fiscal deficit. Under the given circumstances, the fiscal deficit of 7-8 percent of the GDP or even higher should not bother us as long as we spend on the productive sectors. The fiscal deficit numbers should not be compared with the past, at least for the next couple of years.

Question:

But Do not you think The government has already taken a series of steps to boost the country’s economy? 

Answer

To a great extent, the government has already taken several measures to boost manufacturing within the country, under the ambitious Atmanirbhar Bharat program. Schemes like the Production Linked Incentives for over a dozen sectors is already attracting international investors. The industry is expecting that such initiatives will get more leeway in the Budget.

There is no reason why India cannot become a global manufacturing hub for electronics, telecom equipment, something on the line of pharma sectors where we have emerged as a global leader.  

ASSOCHAM has submitted a detailed presentation to the Finance Ministry on tax and non-tax measures, the broad expectation is that the consumption-driven demand would get a boost which would automatically lead to the re-emergence of the private sector investment.

In the meantime, the government has to do the heavy lifting with help from the Reserve Bank of India. Sectors like real estate, agriculture, agrochemicals are expected to get a fillip. Besides, Industry hopes the government would give top priority to the sectors that have been worst affected by the Covid-19 pandemic mainly sectors like hospitality, transport, and aviation industry.

Question

Covid-19 has severely affected the small and medium sector (MSME). What do sops you suggest to bring MSME sector back on the track 

 

Answer:

While government has already taken measures to lift the MSME sector, the government should give them a further lift in terms of regulatory and fiscal support. The schemes like credit guarantee and mortgage-free loans should be broad-based.

While a lot has been done to ensure that their bills are paid expeditiously by the PSUs, government departments, the MSME sector need further cushioning and a liberal banking regime.

There are indications that India is moving towards a V-shaped recovery. However, to continue the industrial growth, we need consumption-led demand to balance supply-side measures and investment-led demand coming in from the government to create a multiplier effect.

Question

You said the government should increase investment in the infrastructure sector. Will you please elaborate it.

Answer

Industry is hoping that the Finance Minister would significantly raise the budget allocations for the ministries dealing with infrastructure sector like roads, highways, and rural development. A big leg-up is also expected in the healthcare sectors across the entire value chain. 

The Rs 110 lakh crore National Infrastructure Project Pipeline, with projects right across energy, healthcare, railways, ports, airports, roads and highways, and rural infrastructure should take India towards a modern and a state of the art economy.

Increased infrastructure investments are also coveted as it can help address the urgent need of job creation, create a multiplier effect in the economy and also enhance the country’s competitiveness to attract investments. 

We expect the industry and the Government to work in close coordination for sustainable economic growth. These efforts would need the support of the RBI which has played a pragmatic role in managing interest rates.

ASSOCHAM is happy that its long-standing recommendation to create an Infrastructure Bank, to fund port, road, and power projects, has now gained significance. Such a Bank will help the country enhance spending on productive assets.

Question

Other than budget what else you expect from the government to boost growth and demand in the Indian industrial sector.

Answer

One issue that the industry expects from the Modi government is to rationalize things like GST. There are some sectors, which are asking for the higher slab as they want higher input credit, at the same time there are some sectors that want to lower the GST slab since they do not want input credits. Now the government should rationalize the GST as per industry demand to give benefits to all. The rationalization of GST would ultimately immediately help many sectors. Consumption linked demand would also boost up due to the rationalization of GST. We are very hopeful about these short-term measures.

Ends.

 

Indian Agri-Scientists to produce heat-tolerant wheat varieties to improve improved grain yield

India may soon have a unique ‘heat tolerant’ wheat variety that would not affect its productivity under heat stress—which causes a dramatic reduction in yield and quality loss of wheat.

Thanks to a young Indian scientist who found a bio-engineering technology to develop 'heat-tolerant' wheat variety.

Wheat is one of the main crops world over and nurtures more than one third of the world population. The main problem in the wheat cultivation is that its production and nutrients reduces drastically in case of high temperature.

The Indian Scientist, Dr Vijay Gahlaut, who is faculty at the Biotechnology division at the Institute of Himalayan Bioresource Technology, Palampur (Himahcal) has found a heritable genes for the wheat crop that do not buckle under heat stress and non-stress conditions during different grain filling stages.

His research could be one of the most promising solutions to improve wheat productivity by engineering elite wheat varieties with enhanced heat stress tolerance and increase grain yield

He has further proposed to carry this out through a process called epigenomic mapping, which will also help in the identification of natural epigenetic variation.

 

In order to find a ‘heat-resistant wheat variety’, Dr Vijay Gahlaut, an Inspire Faculty Fellow of the Department of Science and Technology (DST), found the epigenetic route to modify gene expression in a manner that is stably transmitted but do not involve differences in the underlying DNA sequence. With this the heritable genes do not buckle under heat stress and non-stress conditions during different grain filling stages.

He has proposed to identify the role of DNA methylation (a biological process by which methyl groups are added to the DNA molecule) patterns of heat stress-tolerant and heat stress-sensitive wheat genotypes during different grain filling stages.

He would carry this out through a process called epigenomic mapping, which will also help in the identification of natural epigenetic variation. He has recently published his research in  the journal ‘Genomics’ and wrote on give details of the differential expression pattern of C5-MTase genes under heat stress suggesting their role in stress response in wheat. It would prove a major clue to producing heat-tolerant productive wheat varieties.

The utilization of identical genes that differ in the extent of methylation known asepialleles identified through his research could be one of the most promising solutions to improving wheat productivity by engineering elite wheat varieties with enhanced heat stress tolerance and increase grain yield.

Ends.

Illiterate Tribals learned a 'pleasant' lesson in the COVID-19 era, switched to e-commerce platform to survive

India has taken a great initiative by introducing E-commerce platforms to nearly 50 lakh tribals spread in the remotest parts of the country so as they could market their art and forest produce using digital platforms mainly Amazon, and Flipkart.

The initiative proved a big hit particularly at the time of Corona when the world economy suffered huge losses. The tribals in India not managed not only to survive but also opened a new window for their future trade that could be as high as Rs two lakh crore annually. As per a study conducted by the estimate made by Indian policy making institute--NITI Ayog, the annual trade of tribal art and forest produce is to the tune of Rs two lakh crore(approximately USD 2.5 billion).

Even if a small portion of the trade through E-commerce/digital platform, it would be near to India’s most famous platform Flipkart and Amazon. The TRIFED not only helped them to upload and sell their produce on these digital platforms, but also trained them how to get the best price of their produce on these platforms.

With Pandemic Covid-19 raging across the country when every aspect of life has gone online, TRIFED launched its own Virtual office on its Foundation Day, August 6, 2020. The network has 81 online workstations and 100 additional converging State and agency workstations that will help the team of TRIFED warriors work with their partners across the country – be they from the nodal agencies or implementation agencies –on Mission-mode towards bringing the tribal people closer to mainstream development.

‘Digital Literacy’ to tribals at the time of COVID-19 is probably one of the biggest achievements of the Ministry of Tribal Affairs Ministry in the year 2020-21, which launched a series of initiatives to bring tribals into the mainstream of business to switch on the e-commerce platform to sell their forest produce.

This year, when almost every business was going down due to corona, it was tribals who not only managed to survive but also ventured into the e-commerce business—thanks to TRIFED (The Tribal Cooperative Marketing Development Federation of India), which introduced e-commerce platforms including Amazon and Flipkart to tribals to sell their produce. In fact, it also set a target of Rs 100 crore to sell their produce.

In this fiscal year, the Ministry Tribal Affairs had also launched a program GOAL (Going Online As Leaders) to provide mentorship to tribal youth through digital mode. It was aimed to upskill and empower 5,000 tribal youths in the current phase to harness the full potential of digital platforms and tools to learn new ways of doing business, explore and connect with domestic and international markets.

“The digital skilling and technology will integrate them into the mainstream. The program was designed with a long term vision to develop the potential of tribal youth and women to help them acquire skills and knowledge,” said a senior officer of the Tribal Ministry. The program would further be extended to cover any number of tribal persons who show a keen interest in being mentored to achieve their goals, the ministry stated.

In addition to this, the Ministry also started a unique project ‘Tech for Tribal’ which was aimed to transform Tribal Entrepreneurs. The Project was aimed at capacity building and imparting entrepreneurship skills to tribal forest produce gatherers enrolled under the Pradhan Mantri Van Dhan Yojana(PMVDY). The trainees will undergo a 30 days program over six weeks comprising 120 sessions.

The faculty from premium institutes including IIT-Kanpur, IIT-Roorkee, IIM Indore, Kalinga Institute of Social Science, Bhubaneshwar and SRIJAN organized tribal entrepreneurship and skill development program for tribal forest produce gatherers, who were enrolled under the Pradhan Mantri Van Dhan Yojana(PMVDY). The trainees were given a 30 days program over six weeks comprising 120 sessions.

Besides digital literacy and skill development program, the Ministry also managed to introduce ‘MSP’ (Minimum Support Price) for 23 new forest produce so as the tribals get a reasonable price for their produce.

In another convergence -based initiative, TRIFED has planned the transformation from the Van Dhan mode to the Tribal enterprise mode. As per the program launched in August, entrepreneurs from tribal areas were encouraged for processing forest produce under SFURTI (Scheme of Fund for Regeneration of Traditional Industries) and TRIFOOD. In this cluster-based model of development, a typical SFURTI unit will include 10 Van Dhan Kendras (a cluster) and include 3000 households and encompass a tribal population of 15000 tribals. It has planned to take up 200 TRIFOOD projects across the country in the first phase in the coming months with the plan to initiate 100 TRIFOOD projects immediately.

Electoral Bonds are undemocratic, have killed transparency and legitimised Crony Capitalism: former CEC

Former Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) SY Quraishi, a doctorate in communication and social marketing, is known for expressing his opinion freely and fearlessly. He headed the CEC from July  2010 to June 2012 the time when EVM controversy started and was the one who proposed and implemented VVPAT to address the issues raised by various political parties.

During his two year tenure he planned and supervised several state assembly elections, and introduced many electoral reforms and introduced a voter education division and an expenditure monitoring division in the Election Commission. He has also authored a book titled ‘An Undocumented Wonder – the Making of the Great Indian Election’, that describes the enormity and complexity of Indian elections.

He also set up India International Institute of Democracy and Election Management (IIDEM) and launched National Voters Day. A Haryana-cadre 1971 batch IAS officer, Quraishi held significant posts in the Haryana government as well as in the Union government. In 2016 he was awarded  Honorary Fellowship of the National Indian Students and Alumni Union, He spoke to VIJAY THAKUR on the future roadmap for the Election Commission and challenges to face elections in wake of COVID-19 pandemic. Excerpts:

Question

You have recently called for a ban on opinion polls. Why you are not in favour of Opinion Polls?

Answer

There is no issue if the Opinion Polls are honest. But in a situation where the credibility of media has gone down, you can buy editorial, you can buy news item. That is why all political parties had approached ECI, which we agreed and told them to make a law against opinion polls. After that Law Ministry sent us a draft for banning opinion and exit polls. The Election Commission vetted it. But surprisingly after a fortnight, we noticed that they only banned exit polls and left opinion polls. They demanded, we supported it, but when it came to making an act, they ignored it.

Why we are against Opinion Polls is the trend of paid news. In a situation where we are reporting hundreds of cases of paid news, we cannot rule out the ‘bogus’ opinion polls. And if a bogus opinion poll is projected it would influence public opinion and would affect the purity of the elections. So the banning of Opinion Polls is must for a free and fair election.

Question

To address the EVM apprehensions, the Election Commission has introduced VVPAT (Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail) machines. Now you suggested counting of votes from VVPAT slips instead of EVMs.

Answer

I was heading the CEC when VVPAT was introduced in 2010. When EVM controversy was quite high in 2010, we had an all-party meeting where all political parties agreed to VVPAT. In 2011 we pad dry run of the machine in five towns in different geographical regions, which encountered some errors and sent back for further improvement. A year later, another mock trial was run in the same towns which were successful. Finally, we decided to introduce it in some bye-elections. After its successful run, we finally ordered 20 lakh VVPAT machines and that’s why VVPAT machine was used in 2019 elections.

Despite all that some political parties are still questioning EVM and demanding voting through ballot papers. I suggested two models. First was that the winner and runner up may appeal two machines where they suspect something.

The second model was to do the reverse, instead of counting on EVMs, count on VVPAT machines. Actually counting of VVPAT and EVM machines take nearly 20 to 25 minutes. So instead of counting on EVM lets count VVPAT slips, both would take a similar time, but the confidence level would go up among the contesting candidates. Let's do it on a pilot basis in some constituency. Reversing the process, which means counting VVPAT slips would bring enhance and transparency and credibility to the electoral system.

Question

But by doing so, aren’t you actually advocating for a return to paper ballots?

Answer

Counting of ballot papers is a long process, it was a big paper sheet, opening it checking it and then counting takes a much longer time. Whereas VVPAT slip is a 3-inch slip and hardly takes much time. Counting through a VVPAT machine or through an EVM, both take almost the same time. So in the end there would not be much difference whether we count EVMS or VVPAT slips. I discussed it with some officials of the ECI and suggested these change in the process to increase the credibility of the electoral system.

 

Question

What are your views on the issue of electoral bonds?

I am strongly of the view that Electoral Bonds are undemocratic, have killed transparency, legitimised Crony Capitalism. The scheme introduced by the present government has apparently not only legalized the crony capitalism but also taken away transparency from political funding.

Earlier no company could donate more than 7.5% of their last three years profit unfortunately this limit has been taken away and now a company could donate almost 100% of their profits. Obviously, there is no free lunch. If a company is giving its huge profit, it would definitely expect something back and may influence the government’s decision in their favour.

So the introduction of Electoral bond is definitely a backward step, taken pretending to be a forward step. In the name of bringing transparency,  in fact, they killed transparency. Earlier all donations more than Rs 20,000 was to be brought in the knowledge of the Election Commission. Today even if the donation is of Rs 20 crore, election commission would not come to know the source of the funding.

Question

The EC recently conducted the Bihar Assembly polls successfully amid the Covid pandemic which continues to rage. There are some crucial state polls lined up for early next year. What is your take on elections in Covid times?

 

Answer

Election Commission has done excellent in Bihar assembly elections. It is for the first time that the Commission held four press conferences to bring more transparency. All the detailed guidelines and SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) were scientific, intelligent and based on global experience. We hope it would do the same in the coming elections. India’s Election Commission is always learning and improving itself. EC must have done post mortem of the Bihar assembly elections and I hope it would further improve its guidelines based on its Bihar experience.

Ends.