Hours before counting of votes for the 16th lok Sabha begins, the Union Cabinet on Tuesday cleared a slew of proposals — including appointment of lieutenant- General Dalbir Singh Suhag as the next Army chief despite opposition from the BJP and ratification of stake sale in BHEl. At the same time, President Pranab Mukherjee gave assent to the Whistle-blowers Protection Act, which provides a mechanism for protecting the identity of whistleblowers — a term given to people who expose corruption.
Vice-Chief of Army Staff lt-Gen Suhag will assume the new responsibility after incumbent General Bikram Singh retires on July 31. Former Army chief General VK Singh has been in the forefront of opposing Suhag’s appointment.
VK Singh had put a ‘Disciplinary and Vigilance’ ban on Suhag when he was the 3 Corps Commander two years ago for “failure of command and control” as an Intelligence unit under him had allegedly carried out dacoity in Assam outside the jurisdiction of the Corps. The ban, which prohibits a promotion, was lifted immediately after incumbent Army chief Gen Bikram Singh took over on May 31, 2012.
“What and whom are they trying to protectIJ What are the Defence Ministry and UPA-II scared ofIJ... This harms the individual as people will question the UPA’s motives,” General VK Singh said.
“The Defence Ministry seems determined to push the file through the Appointments Committee of Cabinet (ACC) and the Prime Minister’s Office despite the fact that given the ongoing Jorhat dacoity case, which has been a blot on the name of the Army, there can be no vigilance clearance.
“They got away with it two years ago when Gen Bikram Singh was appointed the chief, so they feel they can do the same thing again,” Gen Singh said before the Government announced Suhag’s appointment.
Suhag was recommended for the Army chief’s post on Monday by the Defence Ministry to the ACC chaired by the Prime Minister after the Election Commission gave the go-ahead for the appointment.
The BJP had protested over the selection process during the ongoing electioneering and said an outgoing Government with three or four days left in office should leave the appointment to the next Government.
Commissioned into the Gurkha Rifles in 1974 after passing out from the National Defence Academy, 59-year-old Suhag will have 30 months in office after taking over from Bikram Singh. An alumnus of Sainik School, Chittorgarh, Suhag was commanding 3 Corps prior to his present appointment as Vice-Chief in January this year.
Just before the UPA Government seemed all set to be ousted from office, the President on Tuesday gave assent to the Whistleblowers Protection Act. The Whistleblowers Protection Act, 2011 provides a mechanism for protecting the identity of whistleblowers — a term given to people who expose corruption.The Act also provides for a system to encourage people to disclose information about corruption or the wilful misuse of power by public servants, including ministers.
As per the law, a person can make a public interest disclosure on corruption before a competent authority -- which is at present the Central Vigilance Commission (CVC). The Government, by notification, can appoint any other body also for receiving such complaints about corruption, the Act says.The Act lays down punishment of up to two years in prison and a fine of up to Rs 30,000 for false or frivolous complaints.
Meanwhile, Union Cabinet cleared private equity major KKR’s proposal to acquire stakes in two pharmaceutical companies in deals worth over Rs 1,400 crore and ratified the decision to sell 4.66 per cent stake in power equipment PSU BHEl.
The Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs (CCEA) headed by the Prime Minister ratified the Finance Ministry’s March decision wherein BHEl had sold 4.66 per cent stake in the state-owned company to life Insurance Corporation (lIC) for about Rs 1,889 crore.
lIC purchased 11.41 crore shares in BHEl at a price of Rs 165.55 apiece through a block deal on the BSE. Following the block deal, Government stake in BHEl came down to 63.06 per cent, from 67.72 per cent.
The Empowered Group of Ministers, headed by Finance Minister P Chidambaram, had in February decided on the timing and mode of disinvestment in BHEl. However, the CCEA approval was pending for the stake sale.