Dilli Ka Babu: Factionalism rears head in ED

Is the Enforcement Directorate (ED) going the CBI way?

The agency seems to be getting pulled in different directions, as seen in the recent controversy involving a senior investigating officer.

Joint director Satyabrat Kumar was divested of all duties as in-charge of the Mumbai zonal unit except the supervision of the coal block allocation case and made the additional director (WR) responsible for everything else. But within hours, the order was reversed as it was discovered that ED special director for the western zone, Vineet Agarwal, had issued it without consulting ED headquarters. This was apparently not relished by senior officials and so, in a matter of hours, the order was cancelled.

Sources say that Mr Agarwal is clearly being seen exceeding his brief in issuing the order without the approval of the ED chief. Some see in the episode a kind of resemblance with the factional feud that raged in the CBI, which only damaged its reputation.

Kerala CS earns ire
Kerala chief secretary Tom Jose is the bad books of the state government.

Sources say that Mr Jose is under fire from the state Cabinet for not issuing the order for executing the agriculture package, including the moratorium for all farm loans availed till December 31 last year.

It is believed that chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan too has expressed his displeasure with Mr Jose for not following instructions even after revenue minister E. Chandrasekharan gave the nod before the election code of conduct kicked in.

The Cabinet is said to have rejected the explanation of the chief secretary in this regard and instructed him to take immediate action to execute the farm package, including the moratorium.

The chief secretary and revenue principal secretary Dr Venu V. had clarified to the Cabinet that the instruction of the agriculture department, including the raising of loan relief, was against the election code of conduct. Mr Jose also pointed out that the moratorium was applicable for farm loans till October and farmers must not worry. It clearly was not enough to appease the annoyed netas.

CVC: A summer interlude
Laxenburg in Austria is a quiet town just south of Vienna, and noted for its scenic beauty. It is also the headquarters of the International Anti-Corruption Academy (IACA), which trains government officials in anti-corruption measures. In early June, the academy will be host to a group of chief vigilance officers (CVOs) from India who will attend a customised vigilance-related training.

The training has been organised by the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC) and sources say there is a rush of eligible CVOs vying to be nominated for inclusion in the group. The idea of escaping the sweltering heat of Dilli and escaping to the cool climes of Austria for a few days is too tempting for the babus!

The training plan of the commission states that the officers (CVOs) should not have undergone any foreign training in the last two years as on April 1 of the year in which training is being organised to be eligible.

Apparently, the personnel ministry was allocated over '240 crore for domestic and foreign training of bureaucrats and augmenting necessary infrastructure during this fiscal in the interim Budget presented by the Union government in February. The personnel ministry acts as a nodal department for the CVC.