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In the last eighteen months, the <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=aam+admi+party&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Aam Aadmi Party</a> including Delhi Chief Minister <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=arvind+kejriwal&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Arvind Kejriwal </a>and six cabinet members have managed to spend over Rs 1 crore on just tea and snacks for their guests. 
 
The details emerged from an <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=RTI&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">RTI</a> query filed by <keyword id="193039" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Vivek-Garg">Vivek Garg</keyword> who sought to know how much the Delhi ministers spend on tea and snacks. Leading the pack is <keyword id="260213" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Arvind-Kejriwal">Arvind Kejriwal</keyword>, who drew up a cumulative bill of Rs 47.29 lakhs which includes Rs 22,42,320 spent at the secretariat office and Rs 24,86,921 spent at his residence camp office. It goes without saying that Kejriwal seems to have left his hunger strike days way way behind. 
 
Following him is Deputy Chief Minister <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=manish+sisodia&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Manish Sisodia</a> who spent a total of Rs 11.28 lakhs on refreshments. 
 
 
Ex-transport minister Gopal Rai who was fired for allegations of corruption was not one to be left behind. As it turns out, he too raked up a bill of over TRs 11 lakh. 
 Then there is <keyword id="6367909" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Sandeep-Kumar">Sandeep Kumar</keyword>, the ex-social welfare minister who was recently sacked and is in the midst of a sexual assault allegation. Kumar spent over Rs 9 lakh on tea and snacks, while Health Minister <keyword id="6378951" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Satyendra-Jain">Satyendra Jain</keyword> also used up Rs 9.1 lakh. Last, but not the least, Tourism Minister <keyword id="6381732" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Kapil-Mishra">Kapil Mishra</keyword> spent over Rs 6 lakh and <keyword id="339091" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Imran-Hussain">Imran Hussain</keyword>, the Food and Civil Supply Minister spent a little over Rs 5 lakh on snacks. 
 
Picking up the tab for all of them is none but us-the taxpayers. 
 
Image credit: Indiatimes

Believe it or not: Aam Aadmi Party spent Rs 1 crore of taxpayers money on chai and samosa

The Delhi Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) on Tuesday decided to impose a weekend curfew in the capital city in the wake of the ongoing Covid-19 resurgence. In a virtual meeting chaired by Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal, the Authority suggested for weekend curfew during which no non-essential movement will be allowed. The meeting also discussed imposing more restrictions in the city in an effort to curb the unabated surge. According to the DDMA order, all government offices, except those dealing with essential services, will work from home. A cap of 50 per cent occupancy has been imposed on private offices. On Monday, Delhi reported 4,099 fresh Covid cases, the highest single-day spike after May 18, 2021 when the tally was also 4,482. The new cases have pushed the infection tally to 14,58,220. Meanwhile, an additional Covid fatality has increased the national capital's death toll to 25,110. The Covid infection in the city has climbed to 6.46 per cent, highest in the last seven months. According to the Delhi Health Department, the national capital had recorded 6.89 per cent positivity rate on May 18, 2021. Of the cases being reported in the national capital, 81 per cent are that of the new Omicron variant, Health Minister Satyendra Jain had said in the Legislative Assembly on Monday. The capital has, so far, detected 351 Omicron cases, of which 57 have been discharged from the hospital. SEE ALSO <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/india/news/delhi-cm-arvind-kejriwal-tests-positive-for-covid-19/articleshow/88679427.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal tests positive for COVID-19</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/startups/news/infoedge-and-zomatos-deepinder-goyal-invested-money-in-geniemode-10-month-old-tech-startup/articleshow/88683920.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">After Deepinder Goyal and Kunal Shah, Info Edge backs this 10-month-old tech startup</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/ongc-appoints-alka-mittal-as-chairperson-and-managing-director/slidelist/88681434.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink">Meet Alka Mittal, the first woman to head oil giant ONGC</a>

Delhi imposes weekend curfew after CM Arvind Kejriwal tests positive of Covid-19

The Statue of Justice wearing a blindfold signifies that Justice must be meted out impartially, without fear or favour. But what is preventing us from safeguarding those whom the Law is meant to protect? There was Satyendra Dubey, murdered in 2003 for exposing corruption in a government-run highway project where he was an engineer. There was Manjunath Shanmugam, an official working with a public sector oil major, who was shot dead by the petrol adulteration mafia in 2005. And more recently in 2012, bureaucrat SP Mahantesh succumbed to his injuries following an attack, after whistleblowing on irregular land allotments. 
 It took the <keyword id="145182" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="40" keywordseo="Indian-Parliament">Indian Parliament</keyword> nearly half a decade to pass a law to set up a national corruption ombudsman. It remains to be seen how many whistleblowers will have to pay with their lives before they have a law to shield them. 
 
Trial and error The central government’s spin doctors will, undoubtedly, point to the Whistle-Blowers Protection Bill, 2011, as evidence of their commitment to the cause of protecting India’s whistleblowers. And they will blame the Opposition for holding up the Parliament (ironically, on charges of government corruption), which has prevented <keyword id="250148" type="ENTERTAINMENT" weightage="40" keywordseo="The-Bill">the Bill</keyword> from getting passed. 
 They will also deflect questions about the apathy that prevailed since 2004, when the <keyword id="6354977" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="40" keywordseo="Supreme-Court">Supreme Court</keyword> had first instructed the government to create a robust whistleblower mechanism, in the wake of the Satyendra Dubey tragedy. 
 The government’s response at the time was disappointing. It instructed the corruption watchdog, the <keyword id="55819" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="80" keywordseo="Central-Vigilance-Commission">Central Vigilance Commission</keyword> (CVC), to do something so that the fig leaf for compliance could be presented to the courts. A look at the <a href="http://cvc.nic.in/pidpi.htm">relevant section</a> of the CVC’s website dealing with whistleblowers will amply illustrate that it is a poor apology even for a fig leaf. 
 
Despite widespread corruption that led to the currently popular ‘India Against Corruption’ initiative, data show that the CVC only registered around 1,300 complaints between 2005 and 2008. Moreover, in around 950 cases, the action recommended by the CVC was not implemented by the concerned authorities. While tigers could be close to extinction in India, it seems there is no shortage of toothless tigers when it comes to fighting corruption. 
 
The much-vaunted Bill does no better, unfortunately. 
 
The not-so-fine print A quick comparison of the present draft of the Bill with the <keyword id="6368295" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="60" keywordseo="law-commission">Law Commission</keyword>’s recommendations on whistleblowing in 2001 and the international laws governing whistleblowing throws up some glaring deficiencies. 
 
Anonymity of the complainant is most crucial for the effectiveness of whistleblowing. Yet, the Bill does not guarantee this, leaving it to the CVC’s discretion to disclose the identity of the complainant. The Law Commission report had left the decision to go public to the complainant. 
 
Disclosures can only be made against public servants and not elected representatives. In a country where politicians in power and bureaucrats operate an unholy nexus, reversing the Law Commission’s recommendation is borderline farcical. 
 
Victimisation or harassment of a complainant through transfer or other administrative measures is left undefined. Therefore, seeking protection against such acts will be difficult. Forget the US and the UK; even Ghana’s laws have specific provisions regarding victimisation and penalties for the same. 
 
Although the Law Commission has recommended that inquiries should be completed between 6 months and 2 years after a complaint comes in, the Bill has not prescribed any time limit for investigation or disposal. More discretion and more opportunities for abuse. 
 
Most modern laws on whistleblowing are not just limited to corruption but also cover negligence and maladministration. However, in a country that has seen a spate of train accidents and declining standards of safety in the public sector monopoly that runs the Indian Railways, the Bill will not entertain any potential whistleblower. 
 
The most damning indictment of the Bill, however, lies in the status quo regarding the power of the CVC to enforce action against those found guilty. Ignoring the Law Commission’s recommendation that the CVC should be empowered to direct criminal proceedings, the Bill has continued to hobble the CVC by not allowing it to go beyond recommending measures to the concerned authorities. 
 
This is despite the CVC’s recommendations having been blithely ignored in the past! 
 
High treason As India plays catch-up with modern democracies, the public debate should also reflect on how all the whistle-blower protection in the world did not prevent the US from persecuting Ed <keyword id="6423563" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="40" keywordseo="Snowden">Snowden</keyword>. Condemned as a traitor even though the US courts have different legal opinions regarding his acts and in spite of the public opinion firmly in his favour, Snowden has to take refuge in a foreign country today. It seems patriotism could be the last refuge of crooks who can hide blatant examples of malfeasance under the cloak of secrecy and security. 
 
India’s whistleblowers don’t lack the courage to do what is necessary for public good. So it is time for the masses to blow the whistle on a weak Bill that betrays its very purpose. 
 
Image: ThinkStock

India’s
Whistleblowers Can’t Escape Foul Play

<ul><li><keyword id="6997863" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="adeco-consultancy">Adeco Consultancy</keyword> conned <keyword id="6357149" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="hdfc-bank">HDFC Bank</keyword> by endorsing 68 unqualified employees, including one at managerial level, over the span of two years.</li><li>51 of those employees were still working in HDFC when the frauds were detected. </li><li>The matter came to light during an internal investigation by the bank when cross-checking an employee reference. </li></ul>Recruiting is never easy, but being duped into hiring unqualified or fraudulent employees is even worse. But, Adeco Consultancy, an Indian consultancy firm was able to <a href="https://www.financialexpress.com/india-news/68-including-branch-manager-used-false-documents-to-get-jobs-hdfc-bank-finds-in-internal-probe/1366466/" data-type="tilCustomLink">pull it off</a> at one of India’s top private banks, HDFC. They were able to place 68 employees in different positions at the bank over a span of two years. The catch was that a lot of these employees had their resumes puffed up by the agency through forged documents. Reports indicate that this includes falsified salary slips, forged certificates and documents, as well as non-existent references. On realisation that the bank had been conned, HDFC filed a case against <a href="https://www.financialexpress.com/india-news/68-including-branch-manager-used-false-documents-to-get-jobs-hdfc-bank-finds-in-internal-probe/1366466/">Adeco Consultancy</a>. Figuring out the rabbit hole The matter came to light in February earlier this year, when the bank was cross-checking the references listed by one of its employees, Geetanjali Bagga. She had only just joined the bank as an assistant manager in November 2017. The modus operandi was further unraveled in an internal investigation when Bagga mentioned the role of Adeco in helping her get fake documents in order to make her profile look more impressive. She admitted having to pay ₹60,000 to Amit Choudhary from the consultancy for helping her clear the exam. The bank immediately went on a checking spree to verify the documents of other employees who had come in through the same consultancy. At the end of the day, the probe unveiled that a total of 68 candidates in the bank had been misrepresented when being hired. 51 of those employees are still working at HDFC. It turns out one of their own employees, <keyword id="287885" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Satyendra">Satyendra</keyword> Pal, was a part of the scam helping new candidates clear HDFC's online exam. It would start as simply as the consultancy wanting to offer training and assistance which would help candidates pass HDFC’s online exam and in return, the candidates were to pay a fee between ₹25,000 to ₹150,000, as reported by <a href="https://www.timesnownews.com/business-economy/companies/article/employment-fraud-gurugram-job-consultancy-firm-tricks-hdfc-bank-using-forged-documents-here-s-how/306668">Times Now,</a> In actuality, the recruitment firm approached potential candidates in a very systematic manner by first identifying them through various job portals and then reeling them in by offering them opportunities as per the current openings of the bank. So, in the middle of ‘training and assisting’ the candidates, they were asked to pay a hefty commission for the forged documents. The FIR filed by HDFC stated that Adeco Consultancy had positioned themselves as partners of the bank to fill in vacant job openings. The firm also had 360 different domain names, similar to those of other financial institutions, which could be provided as contact details for references. The police has <a href="https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/gurgaon/hdfc-bank-finds-68-used-fake-papers-for-job-one-a-branch-manager/articleshow/66422294.cms">booked</a> the firm under sections 420 (cheating), 467 (forgery), 468 (forgery for purpose of cheating), 471 (using forged document) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the <keyword id="75223" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="Indian-Penal-Code">Indian Penal Code</keyword> (IPC).

You Searched For "Satyendra" and got 4 results

Believe it or not: Aam Aadmi Party spent Rs 1 crore of taxpayers money on chai and samosa

Poulomi Das

Delhi imposes weekend curfew after CM Arvind Kejriwal tests positive of Covid-19

IANS

India’s Whistleblowers Can’t Escape Foul Play

Preetam Kaushik

Here’s how one of India's largest private banks was duped into becoming a victim of employment fraud

BI India Bureau

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