A K Bhattacharya: The IAS strikes back

Under attack from the investigative agencies, the civil service is asserting its right to be heard

In the beginning, there were only murmurs of protest. But as the days passed and the attack became relentless with no respite in sight, the protests got louder and took the form of counter-attacks.

This broadly sums up the past few weeks' story of India's civil servants or more precisely the elite club of the country's top administrators - also known as the Indian Administrative Services (IAS).

The resurgence of the civil servants in the face of an onslaught is an unusual phenomenon. Members of the IAS are reputed for their formidability and a strong network of connections they build over time - both while in service and after retirement. Many of those who retire continue to enjoy powerful positions long after their official age of superannuation. They are truly a part of the country's power elite. Thus, rare has been the occasion when members of the IAS have come under attack.

But in the past few years, things have changed a bit. The equations seem to have altered. Thanks to the revelation of several cases of financial impropriety in the execution of government schemes, programmes and policies exposing poor governance norms, the powerful IAS club has come under attack along with their political bosses - the ministers. Add to this the Supreme Court's exhortation to the country's top investigating agency, the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), to act independently and quickly bring the guilty to book, the IAS fraternity's peace has been shattered. The CBI, too, has gone out with unprecedented zeal to start inquiries or file cases against many former bureaucrats.

The initial response to the CBI actions was rather muted. When a case was filed against former telecom secretary, Shyamal Ghosh, last year for his alleged improper decision on spectrum allocation, taken more than a decade prior to that, the lunch rooms and lounges of India International Centre were abuzz with mild surprise over why a former civil servant should be asked to defend actions he had taken in 2002. Many civil servants even questioned the logic of such CBI action. But that was all.

The mood changed when the CBI went after former coal secretary, P C Parakh, for his alleged role in changing a decision of an empowered committee on allocation of coal blocks that ultimately benefitted an Aditya Vikram Birla group company. Parakh did not take long to retaliate with an effect that virtually silenced all his critics and even the CBI. Known for his integrity and straightforward manner of dealing with policy matters, Parakh made it public that if he were found guilty of impropriety for what he did, even Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should be hauled up for similar charges.

That stunning statement seemed to be enough to stop the CBI in its proposed action plan at least vis-à-vis Parakh. It was also the first time that a former civil servant had hit back at the political system, in reaction to the collateral damage civil servants had begun suffering on account of their involvement with and implementation of decision taken as part of the government.

A few days ago, the media reported about the CBI having launched a preliminary inquiry into former chairman of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi), C B Bhave, for his alleged role in giving permission to the Multi Commodity Exchange or MCX to start currency derivatives trading. The reported CBI suggestion was that the permission came in spite of some tax-related investigations being undertaken against MCX at that time.

Bhave also did not take the CBI move lying down. He told the media that the CBI must complete the investigation soon and if it found no charges against him, it should offer a public apology. What's more, Bhave said if he were to be found guilty of having cleared MCX, the CBI should have gone after his predecessor and successor as well for giving what he thought were similarly improper clearances.

Not to be left behind, Venkat Chary, a retired IAS officer who was chairman of MCX for more than a decade until last year, also challenged the CBI to explain why his name was being dragged into the MCX controversy. And then, Chary asked why similar action should not be taken against other former officers of the finance ministry who had directed state-owned financial institutions to reduce their equity stake in the National Commodity and Derivatives Exchange (NCDEX), so that the National Stock Exchange could increase its stake in it to help it compete against MCX.

It is important to note the common element in the manner in which three former IAS officers raised their voice against the CBI. All of them named others in the system who, too, should be implicated if they were accused of the charges levelled against them. Parakh named the prime minister, Bhave talked about his predecessor and successor as Sebi chairman and Chary referred to some other IAS officers in the finance ministry.

The rise of the civil servants has another implication. Several industry leaders have complained about the demoralised state of the civil service, which under such attack, is now reluctant to take decisions on the ground that while they could be penalised for what they do, they would go scot-free even when they refuse to take any decision. That indeed is another aspect of the kind of policy paralysis that affected governance in the last couple of years.

Whatever may be the implications, the sight of civil servants asserting their basic right to be heard and their genuine grievances addressed will be a welcome sign for the new government.