The Hindu : Andhra Pradesh / Hyderabad News : SEC faults Samal for not submitting annual reports

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Thursday, Sep 20, 2007
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Andhra Pradesh

Andhra Pradesh - Hyderabad

SEC faults Samal for not submitting annual reports

Vigilance Commissioner should not act as a supreme authority
Any deviation from his advice should be submitted to Governor

HYDERABAD: State Election Commissioner A.V.S. Reddy has said that not submitting Vigilance Commission report for whole tenure of three years and naming 160 officers of all-India and other services after the completion of tenure is ‘something indefensible’.

Expressing anguish at the recent developments in the wake of former Vigilance Commissioner R.C. Samal’s report, Mr. Reddy has said that such actions will only create heartburn and provide enough fodder for hungry politicians.

In a statement issued here on Wednesday, Mr. Reddy appealed to politicians and media to put an end to this murky controversy and help restore confidence in the civil services among people.

He said a Vigilance Commissioner should not act as a supreme authority. “Vigilance Commission is not a constitutional authority.” Any deviation from the advice of the Commissioner should be submitted to the Governor in the shape of an annual report, which was supposed to be tabled in the Assembly.

Constraints

Mr. Reddy said that already civil servants were being subjected to a lot of stress and strain.

“They do not have freedom of speech, while they are in service,” he said and wondered what the bureaucrats could do when a senior, who enjoyed 35 years in service and another stint in a privileged post, called them a corrupt lot.

“It is unfortunate that some members of civil service forget that service is as good as a mother. She gives birth to you, rears you by feeding and takes care of you till twenties. After that it is the service and the pension and, of course, the wife who takes care of a person,” he observed.

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