Railways: What After Bansal?

Railways: What after Bansal? Two successive regimes of Mamata Banerjee and P K Bansal have hurt and wounded the railways so much that it is now gasping for life. While Mamata has made it financially crippled, Bansal has been instrumental in demoralizing it to the extent that it feels ashamed of its own existence. It was like gang raping the railways. And the government allowed this ordeal of the railways to bear for a week unabated. Mamata’s reckless spending on non-plan activities and transferring money for unapproved, unworkable and visionless projects is no less a misappropriation of railways funds than Bansal’s silently approving of his nephew’s nefarious activities inside Rail Bhavan. It is perhaps for this reason that the CBI has extended the scope of their investigation to Mamata Banerjee’s stint also. What has been the real political intent of the government, in first retaining for a week and then removing Bansal, is best known to the PM and Sonia Gandhi, but the financial and economic exigency demands that the government must start taking immediate measures for railways recovery from the trauma it is suffering. On administrative and moral grounds the railways has to be devotedly and carefully looked after. Like a humming bird the railways has been shot in the mid air by its master. It has fallen and bleeding. It requires love, care and affection of insiders and out siders of the railways who are honest, sincere and sacrificing, to safe guard its honour. The workers and the officers of the railways have shown their anguish in tackling the bribery case and removing Bansal too late. They have shown their resentment towards adopting double standard in corruption cases. If a worker is suspended for taking Rs. 10 as bribe immediately, why so much delay has been done in case of a higher up? The association of officers has distanced itself from Mahesh Kumar who has brought bad name to the cadre. This is perhaps for the first time in the history of railways that such a scandal at the high level has been created. The railways at present is facing the threat of passengers safety. When the corruption is so deep rooted at the high level, who care to take responsibility for the safety of the passengers? Moreover, when the money is channelized in bribery through contractors, the cost of purchasing real equipments for the railways would increase manifold. Poor quality construction work will be done and low category material be used if contractors are made to pay bribe. The railways therefore needs overhauling of the whole system. A war like action has to be taken. The Railway Board must immediately be dissolved for building trust: three posts of members are already vacant and the rest would just be clear within a month or two. In such a situation keeping even the old members would create suspicion. What the Chairman of the Board was doing when such a scandal prevailed in the railways? The Chairman, IRB, be removed on moral ground as has been done in case of Bansal and also because he was catapulted to the post out of turn. A new order must prevail displacing the old that is vitiating the railways. Other financial and administrative changes be bought about so as to set the railways economy in motion. At least preceding four- year period must come under scanner and statutory bodies which can control the minister should be established. The basic problem of the railways is how to control the minister? The railways Ministers from Lalu to Mamata and to Bansal all have worked like autocrats. It seems that only a National Railway Commission for checking corruption, if established, can possibly change the face of the railways. With Bansal now sacked for his alleged role relating to his nephew’s corrupt practices, the railways is in damage-control mode. All India Railwaymen Federation and Association of Railway Officers have shown their solidarity to take steps to check corruption at all levels so that the lost prestige of the railways may be regained. It was shocking for them to learn that such a scandal at the top level was hatched that rocked the railways and shook the spirit of the workers, the staff and the high ups, all alike. The new railway minister C.P. Joshi has stressed on transparency in discharging duties at every level and seeks to build up trust among the 14 Lakh employees of the railways.

The Uphill Task for C.B.I. to Implicate Bansal in Bribery Case

The Uphill Task for CBI to Implicate Bansal in Bribery Case The railways’ bribery case seems to have broken out prematurely. It is a tough task to link Bansal to the top sensational scam. The CBI officers are now working day in and day out to find some fault of Bansal which can undoubtedly be related to the bribery case, but they see it to be an uphill task. Technically, the bribe money did not touch Bansal’s hand and promises made for providing additional charge of G M Westrn Railway, and Signal and Telecommunication did not materialize when money was captured red handed. The posting of Mahesh Kumar as member (Staff), Railway Board, was done on May 1 in regular process on correct lines. The CBI has to find out if any such order of keeping double posts has been issued by the minister or his staff. There are two sides of this episode. First, the money meant for ‘work to be done’ has been passed on and second, the actual work as promised has been done or not. The CBI Director, Ranjit Sinha, who was DG, GRP, Indian railways, prior to his present assignment as CBI Director was familiar with the inside working of the Railway Board and a few of disgruntled officers had earlier told him of the corrupt practices being adopted in promotion to the top posts in the railways. Curiously enough, Mahesh Kumar had informed Sinha regarding such activities being practiced at the top level. Perhaps this might have prompted Mahesh Kumar to have the advantage if work is ‘done’ so normally and he put his step to risk. CBI is a cruel department. The trick was played on Mahesh Kumar himself. Equipped with information received by ‘insiders’, Sinha started working much earlier to the present incident of capturing the money being ‘transferred ’ form one party to another. The ex-minister Bansal may have a strong defence in his favour by debunking CBI’s claim to have enough evidence to nail the minister. Although it is difficult to prove the bribery case against Bansal, but the probe is still on and something new may come up. The missing link in the case is that CBI has no phone intercepts of Bansal whose nephew Vijay Singla has been arrested for promising to fix the appointment of Mahesh Kumar as member (electrical), Railway Board. Singla bragging in the phone conversation about Bansal’s influence does not prove that Bansal was on board. With the resignation of Bansal as minister, a general perception prevailed that he might have presided over a series of scam of the same nature. The CBI has to go through deeply into the files which were forwarded to Bansal for promoting officers in various other fields. The CBI would question Bansal for his relationship with Singla and his activities at Rail Bhavan, but Bansal has a strong plea in his favour because the raids and arrests took place before Kumar’s appointment as member (electrical). When the crime has not been committed, how can one be implicated in the case? The railway minister is the deciding authority in such promotion cases and Mahesh Kumar’s promotion to member (staff) is a clear affair. The CBI thus had a tough job in deciding whether to swoop in or wait for the appointment to happen. ”we could have either let the bribe amount be exchanged and Kumar’s appointment be done …or catch the bribe money being exchanged red handed. For us laying the trap and seizing the money was most important” said Sinha. Now Bansal involvement has to be proved in the court. The CBI believed that Mahesh Kumar had a good reason to rely on Singla because he had seen Singla at the minister’s residence and in the office of minister’s personal secretary, Rahul Bhandari. Kumar had apparently checked that Singla in the past had got certain railway appointments fixed

The Ex-Minister Bansal Retaliates,"Should I Explain the definition of my family"?

The Ex-Minister Bansal Retaliates, “should I explain the definition of my family”? It is really difficult to define an Indian family, more so a business family, in common parlance. As Bansal’s sons and daughters are adults and have their separate occupations and line of business, the real family of Bansal would consist of himself and his wife only. This is Bansal’s micro family and no bribe scam can be assigned to him in true sense of the term of a family. But how Bansal would define a household? His concept of a household would consist of the number of Kitchens he allows to run under a roof or as he has been registered along with the members of family in the register of the national census 2011. Again, what is Bansal’s concept of his Undivided Hindu Family? How will he legally define it? Certainly, he must come forward to explain it in business terms as the people of India would like to know it. He is a public man and the nation needs to know about him in details. The fact is that Bansal does not belong to the modern micro family. He neither believes it nor does he practice it. He belongs to a clan, a member of an extended family which includes brothers, sisters, daughters, daughter-in-laws, sons, son-in-laws, nephew, nephew’s nephew, and many more relatives. There is nothing wrong in belonging to such an extended family. It represents the true spirit of Indian culture of unity and solidarity. But politics does recognize Bansal’s family as a clan which might have in possession not less than fifty members including children. This clan is an asset to Bansal who helps in his constituency for election campaigning. It is true that this clan as such has nothing to do with ‘bribe scandal’. However, a few members of this extended family have come close, closer and closest to Bansal in dealing with railways affairs. Bansal may or may not be aware of this fact, but if OSD is related to him, even distantly, it creates suspicion. The CBI deals with individuals not family. Individual cases are framed and individual charge sheet is submitted. It is only in relation to social and political atmosphere that people link Bansal to his extended family. If Bansal needs to define his family, he must explain the various concepts of Indian family, extended family, household, Hindu undivided family, including the concept of Bansal-clan of which he is a well recognized patriarch.

Indian Railways and Corruption There is no option for Pawan Kumar Bansal but to resign as the railway minister. Explaining his position and distancing from his nephew would not absolve him of the act so directly or indirectly committed. A top most member of railway board is alleged to be a culprit and a witness of the most sensational bribery case came to light in the annals of the Indian Railways who has day to day access to the minister. It is unbelievable that the minister is unaware of his nephew’s nefarious activities concerning the railways affairs. Bansal’s close relationship with his nephew is well known as an insider of the family as well as the manager of Bansal’s election campaign for Lok Sabha seat from Chandigarh . Bansal’s residence at Chandigarh is in the neighbourhood of his nephew’s residence and both the families meet almost daily. Bansal was instantly informed of the raid which CBI officials conducted in the night of Friday. The frequent visits of Bansal’s nephew to Rail Bhavan along with railways contractors as well as his visits to Delhi hotels with them and their associates confirms his motives to influence people and take advantage of it. It is helping indirectly the party to which the minister belongs through individual and material power. Ministers are not there for nothing. They have to serve the party and their personal interests. The service for the nation comes much afterwards. Gone are the days when patriot like Bhagat Singh laid his life for the cause of the country. It is certainly disgusting to know that a person representing Chandigarh, which is the home town of the Prime Minister also, was neither afraid of God nor his own boss and does not show any respect to save the honour of the railways and the ministry. Why does he not resign to protect UPA’s dignity and his own self respect? P.K.Bansal does not belong to the generation of micro family of recent times. He neither believes nor practices that. He has an extended family closely woven into a commercially panned empire furthering business and political interests. The family includes sisters, brothers, nephews, sister-in-laws, son-in-laws including sons and wife. They live in the same sector of Chandigarh and conduct their family business and activities almost in an interlocking manner. The patriarch of the family – Pawan Bansal – visits them on weekends to look after their interests. This Bansal clan has more than fifty members including children. The more prominent adults are named as: Madhu Bansal (wife), Amit Bansal and Manish Bansal (sons), Monika and Shiana (daughter-in-laws), Madan Mohan Singla, Mithan Lal Singla, Vijay Singla, Rajesh Singla, Vikram Bansal, Punit Bansal (all nephews), Sunaina Bansal (Vikram’s wife), Shalini Bansal (Rajeshe’s wife),Chetan Singla (Vijay Singla’s nephew) and Anshul Bansal (Punit’s wife). One-time Congress small functionary and a man of humble beginnings, Bansal rose to the level of a patriarch of a multi-crore empire run by his extended family. His proximity to Manmohan Singh is well known as both belong to the same state; same city of Chandigarh. During his thirty years of long political career Bansal has carved out a safe place for himself through his softness of speech, meaningful smile demeanor and clever persuasive style of handling people, problems and politics. His exterior is so much camouflaged that it is difficult to decipher who is art work - a detached man of unimpeachable integrity or an attached man of large crony and greedy family empire? Lalu Prasad supports him as a man of great moral values and honesty. Bansal says, “Nothing can influence my decision – neither my sons nor my wife; nephews are too remote and distant relations”. Just wait for court verdict, if any prima-face case exists against him. But the problem still remains unsolved. How officers at the top have developed a perception that the job of such a high position can be acquired through money? The answer lies in railways deep rooted mismanagement. Since past few years the bosses at Rail Bhavan have added to their own miseries. The top bribery charisma and its fall out are of recent origin. B. S. Ghosh Dastidar, a former member (Traffic), Railway Board, has expressed his extreme anguish and pain over the incident and added that for the past thirty eight years of his service to the railways, he had never heard of such top bribery case. Banasal may or may not be a party to this so called scam but the way this sensational case came to limelight, he has to bear the brunt of this sudden volcanic erupltion. Bansal seems to have misled the people having said that he (or his family) has no business links with his nephews. It is open documentary evidence that his sons, wife and daughter-in-laws along with his nephews are the directors of Bansal Raunaq Energy Group Ltd., ISIS Packing Pvt. Ltd., IV Health Pvt. Ltd., Theon Pharmaceuticals Ltd. Etc (details are available on Indian Express Website). It has also made clear that ‘Rail Neer’ and railways catering contracts are given to this extended family. Apart from this, Bansal’s family – his wife and sons - have borrowed Lakhs of rupees as ‘soft loans’ from the companies managed by their extended family to which his nephew Vijay singla (one of the main accused) belongs. How can Bansal keep himself aloof from such scenarios of family and money influences? Bansal plays safe not to be directly involved in any of his family business activities. He promotes business through his political influence indirectly or in other sense business gets promoted itself as his graph of political clout increases. There is party, political and ministerial help; there is family, friend and partner help; there is business, trading and organizational help. The Bansal clan gets it all collectively. There is support from inside and outside. He supports others and gets supported by them. It works smoothly, regularly and automatically even without his knowledge. His son Amit and his nephew Vijay Singla are his left and right eyes – if one is hurt the other has to feel the impact; if one rejoices, other can’t resist feeling happy sensation. The minister Bansal, where ever he is, uses his authority softly just in a whispering way – what his right hand does the left hand can’t sense it. He helps those who in turn help him. It is pure and simple professional and business relationship. As a MoS Finance, he got appointed Sunil Gupta as government nominee to Canara Bank, who in turn arranged a soft loan of Rs. 35 crore to his sons and nephews companies. Sunil was an auditor in Bansal’s empire and ultimately became a share holder of the bank. One can’t see any wrong doing in such activities. These are legally acceptable ways except where the ‘use of official power for self interest’ is involved. One has yet to see if the clauses of prevention of corruption Act and misuse of authority are applied in such cases and if he can be questioned for all this? The next step is that the PM must save railways from getting into doldrums. In that case he has to ask the minister to resign. The bribery case is directly a threat to passengers’ safety. When there is ‘zero morality syndrome’, the threat perception for safety multiplies exponentially. The PM must ask Bansal to quit. If the PM really wants to reform the railways he should immediately dissolve the Railway Board and reconstitute it as the bold Indira Gandhi did in 1980. In this respect no aspiring member or Chairman would adopt wrong ways to capture the post and the railways would be purged of the present higher ups who might have acquired the posts through foul means. But it requires strong decision and guts to do so. The railways is gasping for life and it seems its days are over. What a peculiar way of expressing by a member of the ruling party that this ‘small act’ is being much hyped. If this is small thing, what worse can happen to the railways? With what justification Sharad Yadav comes to the rescue of P K Bansal? Ministers do have several relatives, but not so close as Bansal’s naphew is. He is Bansal’s political manager of election campaign. He is to Bansal what Sanjay Gandhi was to Indira in political matters. The top body’s (Railway Board’s) member is involved. All the circumstantial and real evidences so far available show that the malady lies at the top. The head therefore must come to scanner. Bansal will create greater problems for himself and the party if he does not resign immediately. The case is not confined to the subject of top promotional level only. It relates to more sanctioning of the projects and the money involved in it not of Bansal’s regime alone but Mamata’s stint also. Dinesh Trivedi advocates much of honesty but only CAG report will tell how much he or his boss were right in dealing with and sanctioning the projects and transferring the money out of way. The corrupt practices so far kept hidden in railways have suddenly erupted which will certainly enfold the top bosses serving the railways at least for the past one decade. A free hand to these authorities was given by the government at centre and the PM with the result they acted in an autocratic style. The railways was almost held hostage by Trinamool Congress for more than three years. Mamata is a glaring example of an autocrat who still dreams to have railways portfolio. Just think why? The railways is the only department of the government of India which has the budget greater than any of States governments’ budget and comprises more than one tenth of the general budget of the nation. A ten crore alleged deal by a member of the railway board forms just a fringe of the greater deals which might be waiting to be burst out. Let CBI and CAG together make an enquiry for the past one decade and bring facts to the public. If PM does not cooperate in this process, history will not forgive him for tolerating corruption at the top level. The worst scenario of the railways is that it is totally minister driven. He is the monarch of what he surveys. There is no body, no committee and no group to oppose him. He never waits for suggestions. This process creates many loopholes in the administrative system. It was for this reason that it has become much sought after ministry. The department of railways is so vast that it gives an impression that you are ruling a nation. The Prime Minister has yet to set this rotten system right. Instead of showing his inability due to coalition compulsions, he must now rise to the occasion and operate the cancerous disease vitiating the body- railways. The Fare and Freight Regulatory Body has to be set up to intervene if the minister’s actions are getting autocratic. The Project Sanctioning Authority – an independent body – must be established to control the minister. The railways must have its separate Five Year Plan (rather than a part of the general FYP) and no unplanned projects or expenses be allowed unless approved by Finance Ministry and The Planning Commission. If no timely check on the working of the minister for railways is imposed and the powers of the minister are pruned, the cases like recent bribery at the top level will continue.