Opinion Multi- million dollar extravaganza

Vikram Srivastava took over as head of the Central Reserve Police Force on the first of this month. His brother Raman Srivastava was appointed chief of the Border Security Force in August last year. That two brothers now head the country’s two largest para-military forces is a record of sorts. The Srivastavas’ elevation has also brought to the fore an old controversy regarding their ages. According to the files in the Home Ministry,there is a difference of just five months between the brothers,which is a biological impossibility. Raman was born on October 24,1951 and Vikram on March 18,1952. Asked about the discrepancy,Vikram brushed it aside with the cryptic remark,“The matter has been duly examined by the competent authority.” This is surely an even more amazing entry for the record books.

Swami flies out,at last

The once high-flying Chandraswami,who was grounded for over 15 years,has finally managed to fly out of India. The swami’s passport was impounded for many years because of a series of cases slapped against him. The charges against Chandraswami ranged from alleged involvement in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination,to cheating businessman Lakhubhai Pathak and violating FERA regulations. His lawyer argued that the swami’s name in the assassination conspiracy was a frame-up by powerful political forces gunning for the god man in order to embarrass his high profile political disciples,including the late Narasimha Rao. Even after he managed to get out of jail on bail,the Swami had to wait long before his travel plans could fructify.

First the trial court ordered his passport to be returned. Then the Delhi High Court gave him permission to leave the country. But each time there was a hitch at the eleventh hour. Last May,the Supreme Court finally ruled that the swami’s passport should be given back to him,after it was first renewed. The government took its own time to produce a fresh travel document,even though the swami had deposited Rs 10 lakh for each of the cases which is still pending against him.

Avoid the home front

A part of the annual drill for budget preparation is for each ministry to interact with the Planning Commission,which,in turn,makes its own assessment of its demand for grants. Since some of the proposed budget figures for the Home Ministry were pared down,the ministry wants the commission to reconsider. The usual procedure in such cases is for the home secretary to write to the Planning Commission. But the home secretary G K Pillai,perhaps,felt that a formal letter from him to his counterpart in the Planning Commission,Sudha Pillai,might look a trifle odd for she happens to be his wife. So Pillai simply decided to upgrade the communication from the secretary level to the ministerial level.