Hyderabad, February 04: Even as the IAS officers in the state are up in arms over the arrest of two of their colleagues in the Emaar scam and illegal mining case, two former bureaucrats who have served GOI in top positions have said that the law is taking its course with respect to corrupt officials and that politicians guilty of graft are not far from being brought to book.
“In my opinion, unless there is a collusion between the politician and bureaucrat, corruption is not possible,” said former Union home secretary K Padmanabaiah, who belonged to the Maharashtra cadre of the IAS. “However, if a GO is issued in line with what has been decided, the bureaucrat alone cannot be held responsible,” he added.
However, Padmanabaiah wondered why the CBI is not taking action against the politicians who are allegedly involved in the various scams being probed by it in the state. “The last time I spoke to the media, I said the CBI is still carrying out investigations and needs more time to book the politicians. However, now, I am convinced that the CBI is not taking action against the politicians,” he said.
Whoever is guilty should be booked. In the Jagan assets case, the CBI said it will probe the quid pro quo investments made by many private parties in the companies floated by the YSR son, but it is not doing that. It is clear that politicians are involved in the Jagan assets and Emaar cases, but why is the CBI not going after them,” the former home secretary wondered.
“If one compares the CBI investigations with the 2G scam in Delhi and the various scams in the state, there appears to be an imbalance,” Padmanabaiah said. While several politicians have already been booked in the 2G scam, nothing of this sort is happening in the state, he added.
Referring to the recent demand of the AP IAS officers that ministers should also be made to sign on the GOs, Padmanabaiah said no such practice exists anywhere in the country. “It is a wrong demand. The bureaucrats must ensure that the file notings by the minister is clear and also ensure that the same is accurately reflected in the GO,” he said.
Former Union power secretary E A S Sarma, however, was more optimistic than Padmanabaiah of the chance of the CBI booking the corrupt politicians. “The scams in the state are being monitored by the courts. In the end, the agency is accountable to the court. That is why I am of the view that all the guilty in the various scams will be brought to justice,” he said.
On the issue of arrest of two IAS officers from the state, Sarma said: “Whether it is a minister or a civil servant they are all accountable to the law of the land. The civil servant has a very important role to play. In the current scams being probed by the CBI, it is very clear that many politicians are directly involved. They should all be proceeded against,” said Sarma.
–Agencies