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Amidst Budget Session din, parliamentary responses reveal huge vacancies pending in the Central Government offices

sabrang — Mon, 29 Jul 2024 05:34:08 +0000

Introduction

As per the parliamentary responses shared by the Union Government during the current Monsoon Session which began on July 22, the issue of decreasing government’s jobs and pending vacancies starkly came to the fore as revealed from the unstarred answers given by ministers in the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha. Incidentally, Indian Railways, which has historically provided huge job opportunities to millions of young Indians, was accused by the opposition parties of whittling down its recruitment. In the response to the question posed in the Lok Sabha by the Congress MP Sukhdeo Bhagat regarding the decreasing recruitment in the railways, the Union Minister of Railways, Ashwini Vaishnav, said that between 2004 and 2014, 4.11 lakh recruitments were done by the railways compared to 5.02 lakh recruitments between 2014 and 2024. Pertinently, the data reveals that desperate number of youths are applying for the limited number of posts. As per the answer provided by Vaishnav, “Computer Based Test (CBT) exam for more than 1.26 crore candidates was conducted in 7 phases from 28.12.2020 to 31.07.2021…across 211 cities…” and another “CBT was conducted for more than 1.1 crore candidates in 5 phases from 17.08.2022 to 11.10.2022…across 191 cities…”. Notably, based on these exams, only 1,30,581 candidates were finally recruited in the railways out of more than 2.37 crore job applicants. The minister also said that this year 32,603 vacancies have been advertised between January and March through four Centralized Notifications (CENs) for Group C posts.

Vacancies in Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF)

The Minister of State for Home Affairs, Nityanand Rai, in his reply to the question posed by Rajya Sabha MP from AIADMK, C. Ve. Shanmugam, regarding pending vacancies in the Central Armed Police Forces (CAPF), informed the house that as on July 1, 2024 there are 84,106 unfilled vacancies against total sanctioned strength of 10,45,751 posts in the CAPFs and Assam Rifles(AR). He said that 67,345 people were recruited between April, 2023 and February, 2024 and further “64,091 vacancies have been notified and are at different stages of recruitment.” On the concern raised by Shanmugan, whether large number of vacancies is leading to overtime work for existing personnel, the response seemed to tone down the issue by suggesting that “with insignificant effective vacancies compared to the size of the forces, the question of overtime doesn’t arise”.

Rai said that the government has taken effective steps to “expeditiously” fill up these vacancies and has made the decision to reserve 10% of vacancies for ex-Agniveers in the recruitment to the post of Constable (General Duty)/Rifleman in the CAPF and Assam Rifles. Further, he replied that provision is provided for relaxation of upper age limit and exemption from Physical Efficiency Test to such candidates, along with reduction in cut off marks for shortlist candidates applying for the post of Constable/GD.

Unfilled positions in Central Universities

John Brittas, CPI (M) Rajya Sabha MP from Kerala, posed a series of queries to the Minister of Education on existing vacancies in Central varsities and new recruitment undertaken in the last 3 years, including details on SC/ST/OBC recruitments. In its response, the Minister of State for Education, Sukanta Majumdar, informed the house that as against the sanctioned strength of 18940 teaching posts and 35640 non-teaching posts in the Central Universities, 5060 teaching posts and 16719 non-teaching posts remains unfilled as on April 1, 2024. Majumdar further communicated that through “special recruitment drives more than 9650 positions (teaching and non-teaching) have been filled out of which 1281 positions have been filled by Scheduled Castes (SCs), 634 by Scheduled Tribes (STs) and 2011 by Other Backward Classes (OBCs).” However, the answer from the Ministry of Education did not provide specific state-wise and category-wise details of the recruitment as requested in the question.

Deflecting and vague responses

Significantly, few of the questions posed by members of the parliament did not elicit answers to any specific queries raised in the questions but were responded back with generic and vague replies. On the question posed in the Rajya Sabha by Congress MP Mallikarjun Kharge asking for the details “of total appointment letters given by the Prime Minister under Rozgar Mela, Rozgar Mela-wise, Ministry-wise, and State-wise”, the answer given by the Minister of State for Personnel, Public Grievances And Pensions, and the Prime Minister’s Office, merely mentioned that “Details of appointments made are maintained by the respective Ministries/ Departments/ Organisations/States etc.”, without clarifying whether the Central Government has access to such data or not.

In a separate question asked by CPI (M) MP from Lok Sabha, Amra Ram, he inquired about “the number of posts lying vacant in the Offices of Central Government and Public Sector Undertakings along with the time since when the posts are lying vacant”. In response, the Minister of State (MoS) for Personnel, Public Grievances and Pensions, Jitendra Singh, informed that “Occurrence and filling up of vacant posts in various Ministries/Departments is a continuous process. Ministries/ Departments of the Central Government have been directed, from time to time, to fill up vacant posts in a time bound manner. Vacant posts have been filled up in mission mode, in Rozgar Mela launched by Hon’ble Prime Minister on 22nd October, 2022. 12 Rozgar Melas have been held at central level at 45-50 cities across the various States/ Union Territories.”

Similarly, in a reply to a question asked by Lok Sabha MP Hibi Eden about backlog vacancies for SCs/STs/OBCs in Central Government Ministries and Departments, MoS Jitendra Singh simply responded back that “Occurrence and filling of vacancies, along with backlog reserved vacancies, is a continuous process. Instructions have been issued to all Ministries/Departments of the Central Government to constitute an In-House Committee for identification of backlog reserved vacancies, to study the root cause of such vacancies, to initiate measures to remove the factors causing such vacancies and to fill them up through Special Recruitment Drives”.

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Over 11,000 cases registered against Police officers in 2020: Centre to Rajya Sabha

Fri, 12 Feb 2021 06:56:54 +0000

Image Courtesy:nationalheraldindia.com

In the ongoing Budget Session, the Minister of State for Home Affairs, G. Kishan Reddy provided the Rajya Sabha with statistics on registered cases against police personnel regarding violation of human rights and atrocities against people in the country.

His written statement stated that the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) registers cases for the alleged violation of human rights under the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993. During the last three years, the Minister said that NHRC has recommended monetary relief of over twenty crores in 784 cases, disciplinary action in 48 cases and prosecution in one case, across all States/Union Territories.

Interestingly, the number of registered cases against police officials show a declining trend from 2017 to January 15, 2021 as under:

2017 to 2018: 26,391 cases

2018 to 2019: 28,342 cases

2019 to 2020: 17,229 cases

2020 to 15.01.2021: 11,130 cases

The figures from Uttar Pradesh exhibit the horrifying state of affairs with a staggering 15,426 cases registered in the year 2017 to 2018, followed by 16,414 cases in the year 2018 to 2019. The numbers see a dip in the next two years, but stand at a whopping 9,417 and 5,388 cases respectively. It has also been consistent in topping the list of cases registered by the NHRC.

In a bid to end custodial torture, which is a human rights violation by the Police, the Supreme Court of India last year, passed a detailed and specific order directing states and the centre to take concrete steps towards ensuring that every police station in the country and all investigating agencies have CCTV cameras in their premises.

This landmark decision was delivered in the backdrop of the Punjab & Haryana High Court’s order which held that the petitioner’s son’s illegal detention by the Police was a violation of their Right to Life under Article 21 of the Constitution.

The report filed after the custodial torture and subsequent death of a father son duo in Tamil Nadu in 2020, revealed gory details of the brazen dereliction of duty by the police and callous behaviour of jail authorities. The Odisha Police had also come under sharp attack in November last year, after the alleged custodial torture and death cases in Puri, Birmitrapur and Pipili that also compelled the NHRC to intervene.

The answer may be read here:

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93 sedition cases registered, but only 2 convicted in 2019: MHA

Thu, 11 Feb 2021 06:44:22 +0000

Image Courtesy:thenewsnow.co.in

On February 10, Rajya Sabha Member A. Vijayakumar questioned the Centre whether it would state the number of sedition charges filed in the country and if the accused persons were being freed due to a ‘weak law’ in place. He also asked if the Government intends to strengthen the law.

G. Kishan Reddy, the Minister of State for Home Affairs, in his written response stated that the responsibility of maintaining law and order, including investigation, registration and prosecution of crimes, protection of life and property, rests primarily with the respective State Government.

However, he revealed that the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) compiles and publishes information on crimes in its publication “Crime in India”, including the State-wise data of cases registered, charge sheeted, conviction rate etc., under the offence of sedition.

The 2019 data reveals that a total of 93 cases of sedition under section 124A of the Indian Penal Code have been registered across 36 States and Union Territories, resulting in zero cases discharged or withdrawn. But the total number of arrests stand at a staggering 96.

Karnataka tops the list with 22 cases lodged, but only 13 persons being chargesheeted with no conviction. In 2019, Assam accounted for the highest number of arrests at 23, with 17 cases registered and 12 acquittals. But the number of persons convicted for sedition stood at zero.

Besides these States, sedition charges have also emerged from Jammu and Kashmir (11), Uttar Pradesh (10), Nagaland (8), Kerala (4), Jharkhand (3), Rajasthan and Tamil Nadu (4 each), Delhi (1), Haryana (2) and Odisha (2).

On the question of whether the Centre is planning to strengthen the sedition law as it stands today, the MoS’ cryptic answer read: “Amendment of laws is an ongoing process”.

It is pertinent to note that recently, a plea was filed in the Supreme Court challenging the constitutional validity of section 124A (sedition) of the Indian Penal Code on grounds that there is an increasing chilling effect of the blatant misuse of it on constitutional democracy, fundamental rights and under Article 19(1)(a) and Article 21.

On February 9, the top court dismissed the plea citing that the petitioners lacked a definite cause of action, which is a prerequisite to challenge any legislation.

The answer may be read here:

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Maharashtra gov’t bringing back Ballot papers?

Wed, 03 Feb 2021 08:25:40 +0000

Image Courtesy:freepressjournal.in

The Uddhav Thackeray-led Maharashtra government could bring back ballot papers for voting in the state. However, they will exist alongside instead of replacing the current Electronic Voting Machine (EVM) system. The government is likely to introduce a Bill to this effect in the Budget Session of the state assembly.

Assembly Speaker Nana Patole told News 18, “If the draft is ready, the bill can be introduced in the coming budget session.”

Hindustan Times reported that in response to an application by one Pradeep Uke of Nagpur, a meeting to discuss the possibility of reintroducing ballot papers was held at Vidhan Bhavan where apart from Patole, State Medical Education Minister Amit Deshmukh, the state’s chief electoral officer Baldev Singh and others were also present.

It is also important to note, that even if the Bill is passed, ballot paper-based elections can only be conducted for state legislature and local self-government elections. All alliance partners of the Maha Vikas Aghadi (Shiv Sena, Congress and Nationalist Congress Party) are reportedly keen to bring in the legislation, reports News 18.

Over the years several concerns have been raised by activists, advocacy groups and Opposition parties about the vulnerability of EVMs. Even after the introduction of Voter Verified Paper Audit Trail (VVPAT), the concerns haven’t abated, in fact they appear to have grown.

According to a recent report titled An Inquiry into India’s Election System: Is the Indian EVM and VVPAT System Fit for Democratic Elections? published by the Citizens’ Commission on Elections (CCE), the following lacunae have been found in the EVM-VVPAT voting system:

The ECI does not appear to safeguard against the possibilities of ‘side-channel attacks’, i.e. hacking electronic devices through electromagnetic and other methods.
Even the ‘software guard extensions’ of sophisticated Intel processors have proved vulnerable to interference and tampering.
Just a few EVMs can swing election results for a constituency.
That the processor chip in the EVM is only one-time programmable is also in doubt.
In fact, latest EVMs use the MK61FX512VMD12 microcontroller supplied by an US based multinational, which has a programmable flash memory.

The report has raised concerns about VVPAT saying, “The ECI’s VVPAT system is not truly voter-verified because it does not provide the necessary agency to a voter to cancel her vote if she thinks it has been recorded incorrectly. Also, in case the voter raises a dispute, there is no way for her to prove that she is not lying. As such, penalizing a voter in such a situation is not correct.”

Although assembly elections are not due in Maharashtra this year, they are scheduled to take place in April-May in Assam, Kerala, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal. It remains to be seen if any of these states/union territories will follow in Maharashtra’s footsteps.

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Budget Session: How the Centre justified farms laws in Lok Sabha

Wed, 03 Feb 2021 05:03:19 +0000

Image Courtesy:timesofindia.indiatimes.com

The Ministry of Agriculture, on its first day back in Lok Sabha, answering members’ questions about farm laws, tried hard to defend farm laws, its provisions and the urgency in passing the same in times of a pandemic.

Kanimozhi Karunanidhi of DMK was among members who questioned the government on whether it failed to consult with farmers before passing the laws, what was the urgency of getting the laws passed during a pandemic, whether it failed to assure MSP and land ownership to farmers and so on.

The Agriculture Minister, Narendra Singh Tomar, in his written response stated that the government has been in discussion with stakeholders over agri-reforms for years.

Justifying the urgency of passing the laws, Tomar stated that there has been a constant demand for reforming the agriculture marketing system so that farmers can sell their produce for better price realisation. Why the laws were brought during the pandemic, the Minister said, “During Covid-19 lockdown due to disruption of markets and supply chains, there was utmost need to allow free direct marketing outside the mandis to facilitate the farmers in selling their produce near to farm gate at remunerative prices”.

The Ministry further stated, “Government of India vide letter dated 04.04.2020 had requested States/ UTs to facilitate the process of direct marketing for farmers/ group of farmers, FPOs and cooperatives by limiting the regulation under State APMC Act to within physical premises of the notified markets only, while allowing the direct buying facility by bulk buyers/ processors/ big retailers etc outside mandi premises with minimum or without requirement of any licensing or registration process or as decided by States/ UTs.”

On the issue of MSP, Tomar stated that the laws in question have no bearing on the policy and process of procurement on MSP. “The Farmers (Empowerment and Protection) Agreement on Price Assurance and Farm Services Act, 2020, is for farming agreement of farmers’ produce between farmers and to sponsors and not about contract of farmers’ land,” it stated.

The response states that the two farmer related laws (apart from Essential Commodities amendment) are intended to provide an ecosystem where the farmers can enjoy the freedom of choice relating to sale of farmers’ produce which facilitates remunerative prices to farmers through competitive alternative channels for selling their produce.

Another set of MPs asked for reasoning behind empowering executive officers including Sub Divisional Magistrates and Collectors to adjudicate upon issues arising from disputes under these laws and questioned why civil courts jurisdiction has been barred. Tomar justified this move in his written response saying that directing disputes to executive officers is a quick and cost effective dispute resolution mechanism. He further stated that these officers perform the functions relating to land revenue including maintaining land records and resolving the disputes relating to crops and land. Thus, they have field experiences relating to agriculture & land disputes as well as judicial. The government thus found them to be more equipped to adjudicate on these disputes.

Day 2 of Budget Session

As the Rajya Sabha was about to begin the sessions, Opposition parties including the Congress, Left, TMC and DMK staged a walkout while demanding suspension of business of the day to discuss the farmers’ agitation, which was rejected by Chairman Venkaiah Naidu. Owing to which, the house was adjourned four times. Naidu maintained his stand on passage of farm laws in the house, “I’ve repeated that there was discussion threadbare in the House on farm laws. It is a wrong impression being created that there was no discussion. With regard to voting, people may have their own arguments but every party had completed their part & made suggestions.” Naidu pleaded with members to hold orderly discussions during the session but the house was eventually adjourned until the next day.

Meanwhile, Congress party leaders in Lok Sabha, Adhir Ranjan Chaudhary, Koddikunil Suresh gave adjournment notice motion and in the second half of the day, the house resumed amidst loud slogans of “vapas lo vapas lo kisan virodhi kanoon vapas lo” (retract farm laws) opposition parties against farm laws and hence even the lower house was adjourned for the day.

The answers may be read here

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Opposition parties to boycott President’s address to Parliament on Friday

Thu, 28 Jan 2021 12:06:42 +0000

Image Courtesy:ndtv.com

Making a massive political statement, 16 Opposition parties have decided to boycott President Ram Nath Kovind’s address to Parliament on January 29. The President is to address the joint sitting of both the Houses of Parliament when the Budget session begins, however, senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad has said his party along with 15 others will boycott it, in solidarity with the farmers protesting the new farm laws.

The Congress party & 15 other Opposition parties have decided to boycott the President’s address to Parliament on 29th Jan 2021 in solidarity with the farmers of India.

Here is the joint statement: pic.twitter.com/mJo9Q4fXyd

— Congress (@INCIndia) January 28, 2021

According to news reports, this is the second time that any such protest has happened during the Presidential address in Parliament. In January, 2020, the leaders of the opposition parties wore black armbands during the President’s address to both the houses, reported the National Herald. This was a mark of protest in the wake of the anti-CAA protests that were going on across the country at that time.

Now, the 16 Opposition parties have also demanded that a probe into the Centre’s role in violence on Republic Day in Delhi be conducted. According to news reports, the Congress, on Wednesday, had also held Union Home Minister Amit Shah responsible for the violence that was witnessed on Republic Day. They had demanded that he “be sacked immediately,” reported NH and the party had accused the “Modi government of being part of a concerted conspiracy to malign the farmers’ agitation by allowing some miscreants to enter the Red Fort complex and hoist a religious flag, in their bid to ensure that the farmers bury their demand for the repeal of the three new agri laws.”

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