Thursday, May 9, 2013

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.

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