‘Exact meaning of secret has not been given in OSA... In RAW, even circulars for tea parties are secret’

From the same news item I learned that the RAW has decided to hold an ‘internal inquiry’ into the allegations of corruption cited in my book. This is unlikely to achieve anything. All cases of corruption detailed in the book were reported by me to higher authorities in writing. If action had been taken then, there would have been no need to bring them out in the book. If an ‘internal inquiry’ did not find anything wrong then, how will it help now? Does the RAW really expect the public to believe that those involved will find themselves guilty? If the Government is serious about bringing the guilty men to book, it should hand over the investigation to the CBI. Given the past record of the RAW, this is probably wishful thinking. Even in a major incident such as the escape of Rabinder Singh, no FIR was lodged against him or any of the other officers involved.

The main points brought out in the book are lack of accountability, leadership and transparency. I have made a case for parliamentary oversight for intelligence agencies such as the RAW and IB, on the pattern of other democracies such as the US and UK. This view is supported by almost everyone, including people in the intelligence community. The measure will actually help the agencies, since it will give them an avenue to put forth their views and counter false allegations that today go challenged. The reluctance of the government to introduce legislation towards this end is baffling.

Other than the RAW, not one person in government or out of it, has found anything in the book that has damaged India’s national security. If the government did not find reason enough to ban the book, is it justified in invoking the Official Secrets Act against me? In any case, this is not the first book about an Indian intelligence agency. Books have been written about the IB as well as the RAW, which are, if anything, more explicit than mine. Am I paying the price for being an ‘outsider’, or is it because of personal animus? Is this not a mockery of the Whistleblowers Act? Without even a shadow of accountability, our intelligence agencies have become a law unto themselves.