Transferred CBI officer accuses interim chief Nageswara Rao of acting out of malice
New Delhi, Jan 29: A CBI SP transferred within five months of his posting has accused the agency's interim chief M Nageswara Rao of acting out of "malice and prejudice" at the "expense of institutional and public interests".
He claimed that the action against him was due to the fact that he had complained about Rao's misconduct to the then CBI director Alok Verma.
Seeking review of his transfer from Anti-Corruption Branch here to Ghaziabad training academy, Superintendent of Police T Rajah Balaji has questioned the "mass transfers" done by Rao as "Director in-charge".
When sought a reaction, CBI Spokesperson Nitin Wakankar said the representation from Balaji about his transfer has not yet been received in the office of the director.
Additional Director Rao was given duties and responsibilities of CBI director after a high-level committee transferred Verma as DG Fire Services on January 10.
After assuming duty, Rao ordered mass transfers in the agency from the ranks of joint directors to ASPs. No justifications were given for the exercise.
Balaji, who was transferred in a late night order on January 21, said he was given the posting in New Delhi by Verma on humanitarian grounds on August 1, 2018 so that his mother-in-law, a cancer patient undergoing treatment at All India Institute of Medical Sciences, can be taken care of.
He said this is the fourth time within two years that he has been transferred.
He said Minister of Urban Development and Housing Affairs allotted him accommodation in East Kidwai Nagar which is close to AIIMS.
"It is a known fact that I had complained about your misconduct to the then Director CBI on March 11, 2017 and subsequently when you had served me with a memo, your misconduct was set out in more explicit terms by me vide letter May 2, 2017, and, now you have abused your official position to service your personal sleepless malice and prejudice against me at the expense of institutional and public interests," Balaji said.
Wakankar said appropriate action will be taken once the representation is received.
"As and when it is received through proper channel, appropriate action as per rules will be taken. It may further be mentioned that Rajah Balaji has been transferred to Ghaziabad which is the part of the NCR only," he said.
In his letter, which is also part of his petition to the Central Administrative Tribunal, Balaji said the post of director cannot be used for any purpose other than institutional and public interests.
He said the transfer order does not offer any reasons
"It is a known fact in the public domain that the three- member high committee is to meet on January 24, 2019 to select the next director, CBI and as a matter of propriety, it was incumbent and necessary in your capacity as only director-in-charge not to go on a spree of mass transfers of various officers from the level of joint directors to additional superintendents of police, and resort to any necessary transfer only on rational grounds that merit such a course in public interest," he said in his letter dated January 22.
The meeting of the high-level committee comprising Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chief Justice of India Ranjan Gogoi and leader of Congress in Lok Sabha Mallikarjun Kharge to select the new CBI chief remained inconclusive on January 24.
A new date of the meeting is yet to be decided.
Balaji said his transfer order is "plainly irrational" because as director in-charge, no review or inspection of the branches has been carried out by Rao to deduce why such mass transfers were necessary.
Referring to a quote of Shakespeare from his play Henry V "There is some soul of goodness in things evil, 5 Would men observingly distill it out", Balaji said he admits that he does not have the intelligence to 'distill' good out of Rao but he should bear animosity to him not an ailing old woman.
"I request you on purely humanitarian grounds in the hope that you can truly make a start to redeem your humanity. It is never late in life to become a good man again. Trust me. Trust the better part of your heart. No More, no less," he wrote to Rao.
The post of the CBI chief has been lying vacant since January 10 after the exit of Verma, who was engaged in a bitter fight with Gujarat-cadre IPS officer Rakesh Asthana over corruption charges.
Both Verma and Asthana have accused each other of corruption.
Verma, after being removed from the post of CBI director, was named as the Director General of Fire Services, Civil Defence and Home Guards - a less significant portfolio. He did not accept the offer and wrote to the government, saying he should be considered as deemed superannuated as he has completed 60 year age of superannuation.
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Doordarshan's Logo change to Saffron sparks controversy
New Delhi: Two days after unveiling its new logo with a shift from ruby red to saffron, DD News, the flagship channel of state-run Doordarshan, has come under criticism from Opposition parties for alleged "saffronisation."
While DD News described the change as a visual aesthetic update, Opposition leaders questioned the timing, just ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.
On Tuesday evening, DD News posted a video of its new logo on its official social media handle, stating, "While our values remain the same, we are now available in a new avatar. Get ready for a news journey like never before. Experience the all-new DD News!"
"We have the courage to put: Accuracy over speed, Facts over claims, Truth over sensationalism…Because if it is on DD News, it is the truth! DD News – Bharosa Sach Ka," it added.
Reacting to the logo change, TMC Rajya Sabha MP Jawhar Sircar, former CEO of Prasar Bharati, said, "National broadcaster Doordarshan colours its historic flagship logo in saffron! As its ex-CEO, I have been watching its saffronisation with alarm and feel — it’s not Prasar Bharati any more, it’s Prachar (publicity) Bharati!"
Sircar criticized the ruling party's programs receiving more airtime compared to those of the Opposition. He called it "visual entrapment" by the regime, citing the example of the Rajya Sabha hall in the new Parliament building turning saffron.
In response, Prasar Bharati CEO Gaurav Dwivedi defended the change, calling the new logo's color "catchy orange."
"It's not only a new logo, the entire look and feel has been upgraded — we have a new set, new lighting, seating arrangement and equipment," Dwivedi said.
Doordarshan's current logo for DD National is blue and saffron. Officials noted that when Doordarshan was launched in 1959, it had a saffron logo. Over the years, other colors such as blue, yellow, and red were used for the logo, while its design remained consistent — two petals with a globe in the center.
